Two Steps Forward
by Werewolves-Oh-My
Summary: Where there is the greatest love, there are always miracles. RLSB, JPLE
1. Chapter 1

James Potter wished he could say he was surprised when he walked in on Sirius Black and Kevin McDermott kissing each other senseless in the Dorms. Hell, he wish he had felt the need to gasp, or cover his eyes, or declare that what Sirius Black was doing with another male was vulgar and disgusting, as the wizarding world would wish for any respectable wizard to do.

However, after spending the best part of 10 years with Sirius Black as his best friend, James had become accustomed ignoring such indiscretions.

"Pads, do you have to do that stuff on MY bed? It took me a week to get the stains off it after last time." James shivered at the memory, crouching at the end of the bed the two temporary lovers shared. James lent into his trunk, staring at its contents desperately. "Have you seen any quills? Lolita's given me Lily's home address so that I can write postcards to my beloved during the next holiday, but I need something to write it down with..."

"Well if your bed wasn't the closest to the door, I wouldn't have had to resort to using it now, would I?" James looked over his shoulder watching a fully clothed Sirius roll off his prey. "I'm done here, Kenny. You can go."

"My name's K-Kevin" the boy muttered in mild annoyance, straightening his tie as he turned to James. "P-Please don't tell anyone, James. I don't want my friends to -"

"Don't worry. I really couldn't care what you prefer between the sheets." James replied offhandedly, peering deeper into his trunk. "Where in the name of Merlin are my quills... AHA!" He exclaimed, holding a disheveled quill with crushed feathers in the air with exuberance. Behind him, Sirius gagged, canine senses slightly overwhelmed by the horrific smell which radiated from the writing device.

"Sweet Flobberworms, did you dip that thing in thestral dung? Try keeping your stationery clean, will you prongs?" Sirius muttered, perching on the end of the bed as Kevin shuffled out. James felt Sirius' eyes upon him, staring at his hair pointedly. As hard as he tried to concentrate on the parchment he was folding, it was impossible to ignore a Black when one wanted your attention, so he returned Sirius' gaze with an exhausted sigh.

"So, you're gay." James started, cleaning the quill against the edge of his cloak. "The girls of Hogwarts will be devastated. Though I must say, I am impressed if you managed to do anything that would make me gag whilst fully clothed." Sirius laughed, fixing his hair with a careless hand.

"I'm not gay. I'm experimental. I've tried every female delicacy that Hogwarts has to offer, and I've yet to be impressed. I thought maybe the men would have something new to bring to the table." James sighed at the approach of their familiar conversation. After the first year of 'discovering the female form' and bragging about it, Sirius had come clean to James that it always felt... unfulfilling. Everything would go as it was supposed to, Sirius would make all the noises and moves that he had learnt from practice (and his 'secret stash'), but it was always hollow.

"So, has 'Kenny' shown you the light?" James smirked, amused at Sirius' inability to remember even the simplest of names. With women it was easy, Sirius was the master of pet names - honey pie, darling, sweetheart, love, Sirius never had the need to remember a single first or last name, he could get away with anything. However, James mused, the prospect of calling a fellow man any of these endearing terms mustn't have seemed right for Sirius' small brain.

"No." Sirius sighed, rolling back on James' bed. "Oh, Jamie. How am I meant to find someone to screw? Almost every girl in this place worth trying has been road tested only to fail their MOT, and Kenny was hardly an improvement."

"Well. Maybe you should decide which sex you like, before you decide who you want to 'screw'." James stated clearly, dipping his quill in the mouldy ink before he forgot the address of his precious Lilyflower. "14, Dales Street... Chipping Norton..."

"But that's just it James. I am the sexual enigma. Girls love me, and I make guys question their sexuality. I am the androgynous anomaly. Why should I narrow my market when I could have anyone?" James couldn't help but roll his eyes at Sirius' inflated ego.

"I can safely say that you've never ever made me question my sexuality, Sirius. And if your head gets any bigger, they're going to have trouble getting you out of the dorms."

"Why is Sirius going to be stuck in the dorms?" A voice laughed from behind James as Peter Pettigrew emerged from the stairwell. James' eyes searched Sirius' silver ones, begging for permission to reveal Sirius' new sexual preference to Peter. Sirius sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Go on then, Potter. I can see you're desperate to spread the gossip." Sirius mumbled, pulling a pillow over his head. "Alas, cruel world, why musteth thou cutteth me whence it hurteth the most!"

"Sirius, if Remus was here to hear you slaughter Shakespearian English, you'd be in a bodybag my friend." James laughed, turning to Peter who desperately craved the gossip.

Sirius partially listened to the pair's gasps and cries, but let his mind drift to Remus. Remus. He'd know what to do now. He'd try and help Sirius, try and make sense of the insane ramblings of the eldest Black child.

But he was still at home, unable to make the long cross-country journey up to Scotland on the day of the full moon. He'd said he would come by the wednesday, but it was the friday now and Sirius had begun to desperately miss his calming influence. He hadn't heard from the quiet werewolf since before the full moon, and was beginning to worry. What if something had gone wrong? What if Remus was hurt? What if Remus had killed someone? What if someone had killed Remus?

"Will he try it on with me?" Sirius heard Peter whisper to James, believing Sirius to not have heard. A feral grin appeared on Sirius' face at the potential freak-out possibilities which were posed by the chubby boy's belief that Sirius would go for anything that would breathe. He did have *some* standards, you know.

Just what these standards were to be, he did not know. With girls it was easy - large boobs, long blonde hair, ditsy persona - he went for the characteristic 'easy lay' with a good body. But when it came to men? He hadn't the foggiest. Sirius thought about it for a few moments; what sort of man did he want?

Well. Tall was a must, he supposed. Not taller than him. Maybe the same height. That would be nice. Lighter hair than himself; preferably ashy blonde to light brown. Interesting eyes, that change colour in different lights. Funny. Understanding would be nice, unless it was just a quick lay. Quick lays didn't need to be understanding. That would complicate things, and potentially ruin the 'quick' element in the quick lay.

Would it be about quick lays if he was gay? Perhaps, he decided. 'I'll need a few practice lays to learn the ropes' he mused, suddenly realising he didn't really have much of a clue about how sex worked between two men. He could guess, though, and a few practice runs would do no one any harm, so long as all the usual protective spells were in place. Would he be the 'woman' or the 'man' in a relationship? Undecided.

Longer term prospects would also need to be loving, quick witted, smart, handsome, and a bit different. Normal bored Sirius. Any potential partner would need to be something a bit special. Perhaps a vampire. Or double jointed. Or incredibly kinky. Maybe all three.

Most importantly of all, Sirius believed, was that they needed to be trusting and patient. Sirius wasn't an idiot; he knew he fucked up occasionally. Whoever was going to have him for the long term needed to accept that, and be there for Sirius when he needed them.

'Well aren't you the soppy git today'. Sirius mused to himself. '_I want someone who will love me and cuddle me and kiss me where it hurts. _ God. I make myself sick sometimes.' He shook his head, focussing back in on the conversation between James and Peter.

"-And then, he'll castrate you. Because that's the sort of kinky thing that Sirius enjoys during sex, I'm afraid. Don't look so scared, Peter, he'll sew it back on when he's done with you, though surgery a la Sirius has been known to go a bit skewed occasionally. I heard sewed on Snivelly's backwards once he was done with h-" The look of panic that marred Peter's features throughout the story seemed to disappear in an instant. "What?"

"Oh James" Sirius mused, sitting up to face his friend. "You made the classic mistake. Your story was going perfectly well until you added in the unnecessary plot line involving me fucking Snivelly. Anyone who has ever, ever met me knows that this will never happen. Thus, your story loses its impetus. You should have stuck through with the going theme of Kenny, and then added in that I think onion rings can be used as a fun and kinky bedroom aide. Because they can, you know, Peter. Just ask Madeline Halls" Sirius winked, rolling off the bed entirely "And, just so you know, Pete, I find you incredibly sexy. Maybe we should hook up sometime."

"I'm hoping you're not serious." Peter retorted, resisting the urge to slap himself on the forehead as he realised his amateur mistake.

"Oh, but I am. I am seriously Sirius." He turned to James, backing out towards the door as he pointed his hand at the Stag animagi. "Sorry sweetheart, but you're a no." He swung towards Peter, taking slightly more time in his answer "you're not my cup of tea I'm afraid, sugar", taking amusement with the manner in which Peter looked genuinely dejected. He took a final look around the room, his eye spotting Peter's prized teddy, tilting his head as if to consider the option. "Definite maybe. Call me when you've waxed." He decided, pointing at the stuffed bear. At this, Peter threw himself across the room, protecting his loved teddy with all his might. As James laughed, Sirius made his way down the first few steps.

"Where you going, mate?" James grinned, bouncing on his bed in a strange crosslegged position. "Pranking? Because if so, it's illegal to not invite me." Sirius laughed, turning on the stairs to face his best friend.

"No, nothing that exciting. I figured I'd go up to the owlery, send one over to Remus. He should be here by now, I want to check he hasn't been attacked by a thousand wild goblins searching his woods for the gold that the leprechauns hid there."

"When was he due back?" James queried, frown lines marring his forehead. James was almost as protective as Sirius when it came to Remus, after accidentally witnessing one of the wolf's transformations last year. _'I threw up.'_ Sirius remembered the stag saying, when Sirius went and found him the following morning. _'It was the most painful and horrific thing I've ever seen, watching every bone in a person's body break over and over and over again. I don't know how he does it. I really dont.'_

Sirius really hoped Remus was OK.

"He was due on wednesday, but I suppose if he left home on wednesday then he'd be getting here tonight or tomorrow morning? Hopefully as soon as possible, you lot are boring the crap out of me." Sirius smiled, leaning his toned arms on the stairway walls to swing midair. "I want to make sure he's OK though, we can't have our Remmiepoo being unwell, can we?"

"Ok, well tell Moonikins that I love him dearly, and impatiently await his return to my bed." James laughed, winking at the disappearing Sirius. The incredulous look on Sirius' face just made James laugh even harder as Sirius recollected his wits.

"In your dreams, Potter." Sirius laughed, finally backing down the dark of the stairway until the dark consumed his figure and all that was left was the sound of faint footprints fighting their way towards the Owlery.

* * *

Remmikins!

Where have you got to? James and I are really worried, normally if you were going to be late you would have told us, or sent an owl, or something. Was 'that time of the month' OK? Everything's fine here as per usual, but we all miss you so much! Peter looked lost in Transfiguration without your help - neither me nor James have the patience to teach him such simple things that anyone else could master in a heartbeat! He well and truly showed me up in herbology though; we were working with these strange planty things that were a bit like venus flytraps, which tried to EAT ME ALIVE. Those things are bloody lethal, and he and James just stood there laughing as I attempted to rescue my hand.

James says you are to come 'home' soon, and that he is desperately awaiting your return to his bed. I can't believe you're cheating on me with that overgrown dear, dahling.

Get your butt here ASAP!

Lots of love

Siripooo

* * *

**Heyoo! Ok. This is my first story in a while, and updates are going to be a bit more sporadic than usual - I'm so sorry, but I've got exams until mid-May. Forgotten Memories is on a temporary hiatus, just because I was in the mood for a slightly happier story. The more reviews I get, the more I'm likely to write, so just tell me what you think, what I can improve etc!  
**

**Siri and Remmie have also had to share my heart recently - I've discovered that I love Aragorn and Legolas as a pair! I have no idea why, I just love it. But I don't feel I could do those two justice at the moment... If anyone knows any good Aragorn/Legolas stories, feel free to email/message me!**

**All my love,**


	2. Chapter 2

Sirius,

Sorry, I'm going to be a while. Sorry I haven't been in touch, things have been hectic. Rough moon, Moony misses his pack. He howled all night, one of the neighbours worked it out. Been chased out of town, house burnt down, need to relocate mum and find new carer for her before I come 'home'. Dumbledore knows, he's helping. Miss you all. James - keep my side of the bed warm.

Remus

* * *

Sirius examined the hastily scrawled note for the umpteenth time, a look of fury marring his features. The note was so unlike Remus' scroll-long letters, where every i and t were dotted or crossed meticulously, every sentence analysed thoroughly for grammatical errors.

Remus was in trouble, that much was clear. Sirius knew that the second he saw his owl fly down to the breakfast table minutes earlier on the frosty monday morning, carrying what looked like a napkin instead of the scroll he was expecting. Remus hadn't even written the note with his quill, instead relying on that funny muggle thing that he'd once shown Sirius.

Remus was not an animal, that could be chased out of his home without a second thought. Remus was his friend, the kindest and most patient person that Sirius had ever met, and a good person. Remus Lupin didn't deserve this.

"What's with the long face, Pads?" James asked over the breakfast table, frowning at his friend's furious features. James had known Sirius long enough to know when Sirius was about to blow, and knew that the magical catastrophe that would be unleashed shouldn't occur so near potential targets. "D'you want to go up to the dorms? You don't look too good."

"Read." Sirius growled in a feral tone, offering the note to his friend. James took it carefully from the outstretched hand, having to tug slightly due to Sirius' vice-like grip on the fragile napkin. "Looks like Remus will be a while." Sirius clipped, throwing his long legs over the bench and climbing to a stand. James followed his lead, a frown forming as his eyes skimmed the short letter. James steered Sirius out of the Great Hall and up to the dorms, both of them dropping onto their respective beds with more vigor than was needed. James watched Sirius expectantly, waiting for the inevitable fury that would no doubt emanate from the explosive Black.

He didn't have to wait long. James remained still in the middle of the debris as his tall friend released the pent up energy, every pore of his body emitting pure magic strong enough to smash the jugs that sat on each table and crack the ancient windows in their high dorm. James waited patiently for the Black child to sit back down, before he cast a simple cleaning spell to get rid of the mess. Sirius curled in on himself, head resting in his large hands for a moment before he looked at James.

"Who would do this, Prong? Its Remus, not some bloody monster that should be chased out of town. He doesn't deserve this, surely they can see that. He's lived there for 3 years, for Merlin's sake!" Sirius huffed, slamming his fist on the bedpost in the final throws of his anger.

"You know how it is, Sirius. When people don't understand, they fight. Protect your own, and whatnot. Lets face it, it took me and you a bit of time to come round to the idea of Remus being 'some bloody monster' one day a month."

* * *

"_Dangerous." Sirius scoffed, pacing across the floor in the second year dorms. "We've been living with someone who could slice us into pieces. Who could hurt us. Hell, James, he could have KILLED us!"_

_James sat on his bed, dazed. The revelation that the innocent quiet boy that helped him in Herbology and was fantastic at planning a prank was... well, a monster, wasn't a revelation that he ever thought he would have. As mysterious as the ashy haired youngster was, James Potter had never expected Remus Lupin to be - _

"_Werewolf." James whispered disbelievingly, looking at the charts on the bed once more. "Surely we've made a mistake somewhere, maybe this is just coincidence? Maybe he's ill, and needs a potion that has to be mixed under the full moon."_

"_Yes!" Sirius yelled, walking over to glance at the papers on the bed "Or he could have temporal insanity with the coming of the full moon, that can happen apparently. Or maybe-"_

"_Or maybe he's a werewolf." Peter exclaimed exasperatedly from his place on the floor. The two taller boys looked down at the smaller child, who looked up at them from his cross legged position. "There's no point denying it. He disappears every full moon. He has more strength than all three of us combined, despite never doing weights. He's always sick. His eyes change between amber and gold depending on the time of the month. He's covered in scars. Come on, even his name screams "WEREWOLF". There's no point denying it. Werewolf. Werewolf. Werewolf." Peter stood up, sitting on the bed opposite James and Sirius. "So stop questioning what it is, and start questioning what we're going to do about it."_

"_It?" James replied, going over to the bed the 'beast' occupied 29 days of the month. James glanced out the window alongside the bed, eyes resting for a moment on the translucent orb that rested full in the sky. His gaze soon left the globe, instead resting on Remus' bedside table. On the photo of the four of them that rested there, taken in the summer of first year. "It is Remus. It is still Remus." He whispered, picking up the photo and looking at the werewolf's face. "Just because he isn't Remus for one day of the month doesn't mean he's any less Remus-y for the rest of the month. He didn't choose to be a werewolf, none of them do. And lets face it, if he wanted to kill us or make us werewolves, he has had enough opportunity already. Yet he hasn't. Surely that stands for something!"_

"_How do you know that it can't take him over on those other days of the month? You're assuming that Remus will be strong enough to fight it, but how do you know? How can I sleep at night, knowing that he's in the room, considering the best way to kill me?" Peter shuddered as James walked back to the bed, sitting down next to Sirius once more. The photo hung limply in his hands as he turned to face Peter. _

"_Its Remus, Pete. You're speaking as if he's not human." James muttered, placing the photo on the bed and leaning forward. _

"_He's not human." Peter retorted, rocking slightly on the bed. "He's my friend, and I have become fond of him, but you can't dodge the truth. He. Is. Not. Human."_

"_So? Hagrid's not pure human, but we've never treated him any differently because of it. He's not a beast. He's not a monster. He is Remus Lupin, nothing more, nothing less." James paused, thinking for a moment. "Do you think that is his real name? Remus. Lupin. Surely that's too coincidental." _

"_He probably had to change his name after he was bitten, to keep his identity secret. For all we know, he's changed his name a million times, maybe more. If he'd keep something like being a werewolf from us, how do you know he isn't hiding even more? We can't trust anything he says. Nothing. Because for all we know, he's been lying about everything, from his name to his age to his shoe size." Peter reasoned, getting progressively more hysteric. James huffed at the melodrama, turning to face Sirius, who had taken the photo. _

"_Well? What do you think, Sirius?" James asked quietly._

"_Mother told me that werewolves were evil, heartless creatures that are not to be trusted." He mumbled, touching the photo lightly._

"_I didn't ask what your mother thought. I asked what *you* thought, Sirius." James replied, grabbing his friend by the shoulders. "What do *you* think we should do about Remus and his furry little problem?" Sirius couldn't help but smile at James' analogy, glancing at the photo one final time. _

"_He's still Remus. I'm not going to treat him any differently for something he can't control. He's still one of my best friends. And its going to stay that way, whether you two agree with me or not." Sirius stated, tilting his chin in defiance. A smile broke out on James' face, as he leant forward to give Sirius a brotherly hug. As he broke away, Sirius glanced towards Peter on the other bed. "So? Are you with us, or against?" He asked, examining the chubby boy's features. _

"_If he tries to eat me, I'm blaming you two." Peter stated, before his lips upturned slightly. "But just so long as he doesn't start sniffing my butt, I suppose we can keep him." The three smiled at one another for a second, before James jumped up. _

"_So. We don't tell anyone, yes? Because while we three might be quite open minded fellows, the rest of the school would probably chase him with pitch forks if they knew."_

"_Agreed. So, now we wait." Sirius finished, as the three glanced out the window once more, gazing at the hollow moon._

* * *

"Doesn't mean I can't be angry." Sirius grumbled, as he tore his mind away from his memories. "He shouldn't have to run away so soon after the full moon, its not fair. He should be in bed, resting as me and you wait on him hand and foot."

"As *you* wait on him hand and foot, you mean. I'm not allowed within 20 foot of the poor boy after the moon, what with you molly-coddling him." James laughed, watching as Sirius' smiled lightly. "Now, come on. We need to get to lessons. Remus will be furious if we don't have a full set of notes to give him when he gets back." James smiled, looking down at the note crushed in his hand. Realising that he hadn't had the chance to do anything other than glance at it earlier, he re-read the hastily scribbled note, frowning at the mention of a 'carer'. "Pads?"

"Hmm?" The dark haired teen hummed, glancing at James briefly as he sat alongside him on the bed. "What's up?"

"Why does Remus' mother require a carer (*)?" James asked flatly, dragging a finger along the sentence in question as Sirius glanced over his shoulder.

"_She went insane. There she was, a muggle, with a werewolf son and a husband hanging by his neck from a rope, and she lost it." _Sirius remembered Remus saying, when he had asked the same question back in fourth year, after the two had consumed a few too many fire-whiskeys. _"I was 7. I remember her dragging him into the garden. He didn't forgive himself for letting Greyback bite me. I don't forgive him for leaving her alone with me. I don't forgive him for not taking me out with him." _

"She's a muggle. It is custom for them to have a carer." Sirius stated, not wishing to tell James about Remus' rare vulnerable moment. "We learnt about them in muggle studies, don't you remember?"

"Oh, oh yeah." James covered, squinting as if to remember. He straightened his glasses on his nose, sitting up a bit straighter. "Hey, do you reckon Lily has a carer then? Ooh, do you reckon they need a new one? I could be Lily's carer, I'd just follow her round all day-"

"Like you do now, yeah?" Sirius smiled, standing up to dust the lint off his robes.

"Well, yes, but if I was her carer she wouldn't be upset when I did it! How good would that be?" James smiled back, thinking about the possibilities. "I'll have to ask her about that next time I see her."

"Yes yes, you do that James." Sirius laughed, grabbing some quills and heading for the door. "Its transfiguration first, yeah?" He asked, smiling hauntingly as James nodded. "Good good, I do believe Minnie will have missed us over the weekend."

"Oh yes. How does she live without her least favourite student for 2 days a week?" James laughed as the pair walked out the door.

"With difficulty." Sirius replied, grabbing some old parchment so that he could reply to Remus' note.

_

* * *

_

Moonipops

That's completely awful! And here I was thinking you'd just been abducted by pigmy puffs or something equally as minimal, and you're in some real trouble. Is your mum ok? Hopefully you'll find somewhere pretty quickly, they're beginning to teach us NEWTs stuff for next year so we've been learning loads - not that you'll have any problem catching up, what with your love of the library!

Me and James are both worrying sick about you over here (Peter is probably worrying too, in between meals). We want you back in one piece, you hear? I think you need to get back here in time for that time of the month - it'll be easier if mr Moony is with the pack, not to mention Mme Pomfrey can do a better job of patching you up than you will have done on yourself. I swear to God, Rem, if you have Gangrene, I'm going back to that little village of yours and hurting every single person who chased you out. Knobs, the lot of them.

I know I'm going to sound like a soft sod, but I miss you, Rem. I miss our lovely deep drunken conversations, and your immense pranking skill, and your hands. I don't know why I miss your hands, but I do. Did you get everything out of the house OK? Don't worry if you didn't, because good old uncle Alf passed over the summer, and left all his cash to yours truly, so I will buy you a new guitar and whatnot (and don't even try to get all proud on me Remus Lupin. You need help, so take it you oaf. I don't need the money anyway, and am more than willing to get you a new guitar/book/quill/record collection/car. Ok, maybe not a car, since you're not old enough to drive, rendering it a bit pointless, but a motorbike. I could get you a flying one to match my baby. Or I could just buy you a helmet so you can ride on mine. You'd look good in the leathers.)

I've got a load of your records. Ok, well not a load, but some of the good ones, so at least if you did lose the ones at your house you haven't lost them all. And you're about the same height/size as me, so you can have any of my clothes if you want them.

Padsicle wants his moonikins back.

Pads xxx

* * *

**Well, that was a bit more depressing! Ok, what did you all think? I'm hoping you guys liked it, even just a little bit. But, you know, there's only one way that you can tell me that *hint hint nudge nudge***

**Thank you to my *amazing* 10 reviewers, who I love lots right now. Ellesra, .Girl, reviewgrl, MaterMotley, Marauder Black, LoverFaery, emuroo, Lady Annikaa, TeddyBear 8P, and BlackbeltBarbie. Helloo to all the people who added this story to their favourites/alerts. There's quite a few of you, and that makes me *almost* as happy as reviews make me. Also, if you're reading this, hi to whoever is visiting this story from Malaysia! I saw that someone had visited from there on the story traffic thing, and it made my week! Loves it. If someone visits this story from Latvia, I think a little bit of me will die and go to heaven. =)**

**The title is the name of a song by Emmy the Great. I happened to be listening to it when I published the story, which is how it ended up as the title. I may change it if I can find a more relevant title in the future.**

**(*) = Lostangel92 kindly pointed out to me that 'carer' isn't an internationally used term, so just to clear that up, a carer is a caregiver, ie someone who assists those with mental or physical impairments. I hope this helps if anyone is confused!**


	3. Chapter 3

Sirius,

I managed to rescue my trunk, so I've got my Hogwarts robes, even if they are a little charred. I'm fresh out of muggle clothes though, apart from some awful slacks and a vest, so I might have to nab a few bits and bobs from you when I get back there. The rest of the record collection is officially gone, unfortunately, but I believe that you are in possession of my Queen, Beatles, Led Zep and Bowie LPs, so the basics are all still there!

I've found a place in the Lake District. Its not ideal, but it will do. Almost everything is sorted here, so I'm heading over to Hogwarts in 3 days time. Mum is fine and settling well, I've found someone to help her out around here.

And I don't think I've contracted any gangrene, thank Merlin. There's a few cuts that are going to scar worse than if Mme Pomfrey had healed them, but nothing life threatening, and no permanent deformities to worry about.

My hands? They're not very special hands, Pads. In fact I would say they are remarkably average, except for a couple of scars across the knuckles, which are hardly something to miss. I miss your hair. I have nothing to get in my eyes when I'm sat quietly on the sofa at the moment. I keep finding myself waiting for you to rush in, and jump on the settee right next to me, so that I get a face full of your hair.

I guess I'll be seeing you Sunday morning, then.

Loopy Lupin xx

* * *

Life without Remus was getting slowly more frustrating for James Potter. Partially because the marauders seemed to get in significantly more trouble without the level headed friend, partially because it meant there was no one to cheat off in DADA.

However, mostly because the moaning of one Sirius Black was driving him up the wall. James had never really realised how much time the two canines spent together, having assumed that Sirius was with women whenever he wasn't with James. But no, apparently he'd been spending time with the third marauder, and now expected the stag to spend this time with him.

However, James had better things to do with his days and nights. Like sleep. Or stalk Lily. Or dream about stalking Lily. Not to mention he was relatively sure that they had collected enough detentions to keep them inside every night until the turn of the millennium.

Yes, James realised, whilst perhaps Remus Lupin was not the most popular or well known marauder, he served a definitive purpose in the school - primarily as a companion for the nuisance that was a bored Black.

"Jaaaaaaames" The boy whined, lying upside down on his four poster. "Can we go outside? There's nothing to do in here." He moaned, hands digging into his hair.

"No. Read a book or something." James muttered, poring over his transfiguration homework, due in... James glanced at his watch... 3 hours ago. He glanced at Sirius, whose face had assumed the 'Black Scowl". James sighed, unwilling to deal with his friend in this mood. "Fine then. Don't do anything. Just mope, and scowl, and moan about how shiteoric life is. But don't expect me to pay attention. I've spent all day with you, and we've pranked, we've joked, we've laughed and we've flirted - not with each other, mind - but I need a break. I love you, mate, but there is definitely such a thing as over-exposure to Sirius Black."

Sirius glared once more, before relaxing his face into a pout and rolling onto his front. "Remus is never over-exposed to me."

"That's because Remus has the patience of a patron saint. I, however, do not. Why don't you go and grab a girl... guy... whatever to go and 'over expose' if you're that bored." James replied, grabbing another piece of parchment as he scrawled about the transformation of plant pots to feathers. Why any individual would feel the need to do this piece of magic, he did not know. He did, however, know that he needed to get this essay done before McGonnagal hexed him so hard he couldn't walk for a week.

"Urgh. Fine. If I must." Sirius groaned, pulling himself slowly off the bed. "You need to work on being a better listeny friend." He grumbled, moving to the door.

"Hypocrite."

"Overgrown dear."

"Smelly mongrel."

"Four eyes."

"That one hurt, right here." James cried dramatically, throwing his hands to clasp over his chest. He got a flick of the Vs in response, and laughed as he watched his friend move down the stairs, hearing the barritone voice rumble "why hello, darling, I don't believe we've had the chance to get acquainted" at some poor unassuming Gryffindor.

James looked down at the scrolls once more, realising that there was dog slobber over his transfiguration text. Grumbling about mangy mongrels and saliva issues, he wiped the book off, before grudgingly returning to his work.

* * *

Sirius huffed angrily as he rolled once more in his sleep, glaring at his mattress. It was lumpy. And cold. And, in general, unwelcoming. He punched it once more, before glancing with envy across to the bed across the room.

It was common knowledge that Remus Lupin had been gifted with the most comfortable bed in the Marauders' layer. Even James had admitted that their was something strangely comforting about the werewolf's soft bed. Sirius had several theories as to how this had happened, most of which ended with Remus romancing House Elves. Although Sirius had considered following his wolfy friend's romantic lead in order to get a comfier bed, he had never followed through.

Their small hands scared him.

However, the bed was now taunting him with its comfy exterior. The moonlight glinted off the rich throws enticingly, highlighting the smooth lines of the velvet fabric, whilst the plush pillows breathed pliably. Sirius groaned with frustration, sitting up in his lumpy, rough bed.

Sirius had spent many a night in Remus' bed. Whenever there was an angry letter from home, or a romantic rendezvous gone wrong, or a horrific encounter with an angry puffin, Sirius would find refuge in the soft sheets, as his wolfy friend listened to the problems of the world. Occasionally, one could find Sirius returning the favour, listening aptly as Remus let loose, huffing about the issue of the day.

In the absence of his tawny friend, however, Sirius had yet to inhabit the soft sheets, instead confined to his own rough, lumpy, scratchy covers. He glanced over at the pliable bed once more and sighed, deciding to give in to his desires.

He crept out of his own bed softly, padding slowly across the cold wooden floors until he stood inches away from his friend's bed. Looking uncertainly at the ethereal bed, Sirius hesitated momentarily, touching the throws lightly before throwing caution to the wind and diving into the large bed.

The dog couldn't help but huff angrily when the bed didn't quite meet his expectations. The sheets were as soft as ever, the mattress as comforting and the pillows as buxom. But the large bed was missing the inherent smell which usually surrounded the four poster.

The smell of pine needles, and soft spices, and chocolate. The smell of old novels, and pear cider, and occasionally the soft undertone of cigarette smoke, plus something that was completely unique. The smell of Remus.

Sirius' couldn't help but sigh as he realised that his canine senses missed the smell of his closest friend. He inhaled sharply, hoping to find some trace of his wolfy friend in the sheets that had been cleaned countless times over the summer. His lips turned downwards as his nose picked up the scent of flowers, and apples, and detergent. This was not right.

He huffed once more, burrowing his head in the pillows, before he gasped gleefully in remembrance. Reaching underneath the piles of pillows, he found a small, soft blanket, unwashed as usual.

Remus' comfort blanket had remained under his pillow since the end of first year. The lupine often used it to cover his face in the mornings after the full moon, when even the thick curtains around his bed couldn't block out the tiny rays of light that cut his corneas. A source of comfort, of solitude, of relaxation.

An unwashed source of comfort, of solitude, of relaxation. Sirius buried his nose into the soft fabric, sighing gratefully as the scent of his friend washed over him, easing the tense muscles with its calming influence. It had been 3 long months since Sirius had inhaled the drug that was Remus' scent, and he now lapped greedily at it, inhaling deeply through his nose for several long, blissful minutes, until finally the scent of his lupine companion brushed the boy into a comfortable, deep sleep.

* * *

Rem,

Come home. Please. Sirius is slowly driving me insane. I don't know how you put up with the oaf.

Peter says hi.

Prongsyboy

* * *

**SORRY ITS SHORT! I'm in a mad rush, sorry i haven't responded to reviews, FF issues plus a massive workload has prevented me from getting anything done.**

**Sorry for spelling mistakes et cetera, I haven't read through it as a whole today... =(**


	4. Chapter 4

Prongs,

Have no fear, I'll be home by Sunday. You'll have to deal with the mutt until then, I'm afraid, though I doubt he's missing me. He's probably just being melodramatic, as per usual! I'll be back around midday, there's a Hogwarts Express leaving london that morning to deliver some packages, I'll be on that train.

Hello, Peter.

Remus.

* * *

Double transfiguration was never a highlight in Sirius Black's day. Though his love of Minerva McGonnagal was only beaten by his love of custard cream biscuits and Remus' bed, poor old Minnie was much more fun outside the classroom, and he didn't often have the energy to create the carefully co-ordinated chaos that was necessary to disrupt a Minnie lesson.

No, in order to truly disrupt one of Minnie's marvelous lessons, an individual had to put some effort in. One could not expect to walk into the classroom and merely set off a dungbomb or two, no, Minnie put up a fight. Minnie could counteract even the most complex of charms, outwit even the most experienced of pranksters, and punish like no other teacher in this godforsaken school.

Normally, it would take more than these minor inconveniences to deter the canine from pranking. It would take certain death or tickle torture to prevent Sirius from doing something rash and dangerous and fun. However, Sirius mused, he had hardly had a normal month.

The absence of his favourite werewolf was still on his mind, despite the fact it had been three weeks. Every day seemed a bit more awkward, as if he was walking without a limb, there was something so tangible missing that he couldn't really function properly.

Shaking his head lightly, Sirius turned to face his oldest friend, who sat looking disinterestedly at McGonnagal. His eyes were almost disengaged, completely ignoring the instructions of their teacher. "Prongs?" The eyes refocussed rapidly, turning to face Sirius in a daze.

"Hmm?" James pushed his glasses up his nose, glancing worriedly at Sirius. "What's up Pads?" Sirius shrugged, waiting expectantly for James to do... something. However, the be-speckled boy had more pressing things to concern himself with, namely sparing a glance at the beauty sat in the front row. Sirius followed his friend's eyeline, and couldn't prevent his eyes from rolling sarkily.

Lily Evans-eventually-to-be-Potter was one of Sirius Black's mortal enemies. Not only due to her inability to just give his best friend a single simple date, which he could understand. Nor was it her friendship with that toad Snape - all that showed was that the girl had a few screws loose in her old noggin. No, in reality, it was her ability to remove Remus from his clasp that really pissed the dark haired teen off.

Remus was to Lily what Sirius was to James. A friend who provided permanent promise of excitement, who could tell the truth, who could almost read your mind. As such, Lily had a way of dragging Remus away from whatever pressing business Remus was seeing to with Sirius, with merely a tug on his arm. She liked to claim she only took him when it was most important, but Sirius knew better.

Yes, Lily Evans-eventually-to-be-Potter had ulterior motives. Lily Evans-eventually-to-be-Potter wanted his wolfy friend all to herself. And Sirius would not let that stand.

Therefore, Sirius decided, he would find little miss perfect after lessons, and sort this out in the mature, down to earth, responsible manner which he was famed for.

* * *

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!!"

"Got to love a feisty girl, eh? Though I must say, the drowned rat look is none too flattering on one Lily Evans. You'd think by now she'd have learnt how to use a hair-drying charm or something... We're living in the 20th century, yet you'd think she'd just walked out of middle-England." Sirius muttered to Peter, before flashing a gleaming smile at the furious redhead in front of him. The pair sat under a willow (of the non-whomping variety), whilst James sat a little way away, collecting his scrolls as they rolled in the wind.

"Evans. Always a pleasure."

"30 points off Gryffindor for throwing a prefect into the lake, Black. I had hoped that you and Potter might have grown out of this immature phase by fifth year, but it looks like my hopes have been, once again, dashed." Lily rambled, as Sirius raised an eyebrow in amusement. He was about to respond, when he spotted his dark haired companion jogging his way to where the trio now stood. Sirius winced minorly - whilst the Black teen had no qualms about angering a certain redhead, he knew that James would see this as an opportunity to 'woo' his crush.

James Potter was smart. He was funny. He was attractive.

But he had no clue whatsoever when it came to girls. Or at least the only one that mattered.

"My darling Lilyflower, I want you to be assured that I had no role in this horrific plot to get you all wet!" James called, falling to his knees in front of the object of his affections. "Although, petal, I must point out that your breasts are looking particularly swell und-"

"POTTER!! Detention for a month for referring to the swellness of a prefect's breasts." Lily yelled, her face blushing to match her hair.

"But my precious ginger angel-" James started, stopping swiftly as Lily stomped towards him with fury radiating from every fiber of her being. She stopped inches from his face, staring into his brown eyes angrily.

"You finish that sentence, Potter, and I will hex you into next week. Now get inside and stop making a scene." Lily practically hissed, before stepping away from the commotion. However, when she got to Sirius, she stopped suddenly, and Sirius suddenly realised that her eyes had softened slightly as she turned to face him. "Has Remus been in touch with you?" She whispered, her eyes remaining facing forward.

"Yes. He'll be here Sunday." Sirius replied under his breath, not willing to lie about his friend.

"Thanks, Black." Lily replied, before walking onwards and into the castle. James sighed softly, leaning back against the willow as the crowd dispersed.

"Mark it, Peter. 22nd September, 1975, rejection number 346; It appears the future Mrs Potter does not appreciate comments about her breasts. Make sure to keep note of this, Peter, it could be valuable information when opportunity 347 comes a-knocking."

* * *

James raised an eyebrow as he walked out of the bathroom with his toothbrush in his mouth, watching Sirius climb into the missing marauder's bed. Crossing his arms and cocking his head, he questioned his friend silently, wondering why on earth Sirius was in the werewolf's bed.

"Its comfy." The boy in the bed stated, off-put by his rambunctious friend's silence. "I thought since Remus wasn't here, it would be OK if I borrowed his nice warm tidy bed." James kept staring, uncrossing his arms to complete the brushing of his teeth. "I will be out of it by the time Remus is back, he'll never know I was there." James rolled his eyes, removing the toothbrush from his mouth.

"You know that Remus would give you that bed if you asked for it. He's offered it to you a million times before." James stated, sitting on the end of the bouncy bed. After bouncing a few times, smiling, James diverted his attention back to Sirius.

"Yes, but your own food never tastes as good as the chips off someone else's plate." Sirius stated, cuddling into the pillow below his head. "I bloody love being in Remus Lupin's bed." James raised an eyebrow at this, causing Sirius to release a bark like laugh. "You know what I mean! I can't wait for the boy to get home."

"Me neither mate, me neither."

* * *

**AN: Sorry its so short - I've had an awful awful week, culminating in me faceplanting and smashing my face beyond recognition. I'm going in for emergency dental work tomorrow, and I'm completely petrified - I've never even had a filling before!!**

**However, after the dental stuff tomorrow, I'm going to work on the next chapter, which is already partially written, and is considerably better than this. Love to all my reviewers =) xxx**

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

xxx

After a night of hard drinking, Sirius Black was very glad to find his way into Remus' bed, cuddling into the large sheets contemplatively as he prepared for his friend's arrival the next day. Sleep came quickly, and he couldn't help but bask in his friend's relaxing scent as he drifted into an easy slumber.

* * *

"Who's been sleeping in my bed?" Sirius shuddered as hot breath shot across his face, heat spreading across his body as his eyes tore open to meet the sparkling golden globes above him. The face smiled softly, before moving from its welcome position above Sirius, and the dark haired teen rolled over to locate where it had retreated to.

His eyes were greeted to the sight of his missing friend, crouched over his trunk as he placed his wares on the bedside table. "Remus!" He whispered with a smile, pushing the boy's shoulder. "You told me you wouldn't be here until tomorrow, you sneaky devil!"

"Technically, Sirius, it is past midnight, making today tomorrow. Honestly, anyone would think that you were upset at my early arrival." The lupine smiled, placing his parchment in a drawer before resting on his haunches to gaze at his friend, ruffling the dark hair in front of him.

"Never." Sirius responded, a ghost of a smile tracing his lips as he leant into his friend's bony hand, letting the long fingers scratch him as if he were in his canine form. "I just can't believe my moonikins is back. You've been gone for *way* too long." He finished, grabbing Remus' wrist and squeezing lightly.

"I know" Remus sighed, leaning back to sit on the cold floor. "But I came eventually, didn't I?" Sirius smiled fully now, his white teeth glowing in the soft natural light.

"Yes, you came eventually. You came eventually at some godforsaken hour of the morning, which I only normally witness if I'm pulling an all nighter." Sirius laughed, propping himself up on Remus' bed.

"Well then you could have been a bit considerate and pulled an all nighter for me, now, couldn't you?" Remus responded with a smile, patting Sirius' knee softly through the sheets.

"If someone had told me they'd be arriving at..." Sirius leaned over to see the clock, wincing as he saw 3:42 flash repeatedly. "... 4 in the morning, then I would have stayed up until the Hippogryffs came home." Remus laughed silently, rolling his eyes. "Actually, if someone had told me they were coming home at all I would be happy. Instead, I had to learn that my favourite werewolf was coming home through some overgrown deer. That hurt, right here." Sirius sighed dramatically, clasping his hands over his heart.

"Poor little tortured Padfoot. Since you are so tired, diddums, I shall let you get some rest. And since a certain someone seems to have taken refuge in my bed, I do believe I shall have to find somewhere else to sleep." Remus stood to leave, before a firm arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him onto the cramped bed.

"Don't be a silly pumpkin. This bed is big enough for the both of us." Sirius mumbled against the tawny locks in front of him, briefly inhaling the lupine scent. He concealed a yawn haphazardly, before turning his attention back to the teen in front of him. Sirius rolled across the bed, giving his friend some room. "Sides, the only other free bed in this room is mine, and unless sleeping amongst cake, melted chocolate, 3 years worth of notes and a few unidentified living organisms floats your boat, you don't want to be going over there."

"Unidentified living organisms, eh?" Remus smiled, throwing the covers over himself and propping himself up on one elbow. "That could make for an interesting night's sleep, I'm sure."

"They can't have you. I'm having you tonight." Remus raised an eyebrow at this statement, amused at the turn of phrase. "Well, not *having* you, having you, but keeping you in this bed. I mean sleeping with you. I mean sleeping in a bed with you, without bumping uglies. Unless, of course, you want-"

"Pads. I know what you mean. I think I'm going to stay here, thank you very much, in my bed, which you also happen to be sleeping in." Remus yawned lightly, raising a hand to cover his mouth. "'Sides, I'm too tired to move now, so I guess I'll be sleeping here. With you. Without 'bumping uglies'." Sirius couldn't help but smile as Remus wrinkled his nose at the euphemism.

"I didn't mean to call them ugly. Mine are very pretty. I'm sure yours are pretty too."

"As lovely as this conversation is, I'm shattered. Night Padfoot." Remus stated through another yawn, leaning into the pillow and closing his eyes. Sirius lay there, staring at the peaceful form by his side with a smile, until one golden orb popped open and glared. "I know I'm irresistible, Pads, but really, you don't need to stare. Go to sleep, I'll see you in the morning."

"Mmkay. Night night my moonikins."

"Night night Padfoot."

* * *

Sirius heard the rustling of sheets before he had the energy to open his eyes and discover why it was that they were moving. He felt the bounce in the bed as someone moved in between the sheets and the duvet, but it was only when he opened his eyes and watched James' head emerge from the sheets between himself and Remus that he fully understood what was going on.

The be-speckled boy had crawled under the sheets, placing himself between the two canines, and now lay with his head at shoulder level to the two, in an utterly childlike fashion.

"Mooooonyy!" James sang, tugging on Remus' outstretched arm. "Mooooonnyy! Wake up you fool, I want to say hello!" He gave the arm one final tug, but stopped immediately when a low groan left the lupine's throat.

"James! What did you do?" Sirius asked, sitting up to see over his friend. James rolled up Moony's sleeve, wincing as he revealed a deep, infected gash to the air. Remus himself awoke at the cold air on his sore arm, hissing quietly as the sheets brushed the cut. "Looks like someone is in need of a visit to Mme Pomfrey." Sirius stated lightly, a frown marring his features.

"I know, but I'll live this time." Remus replied, before turning his attention to the gangly boy in the middle of the bed. "Hello Prongs, how've you been?"

"I've been fan-flipping-tastic." James answered, his eyes turning from worried to excited in a matter of seconds. "Guess who smiled at me yesterday? Lily Evans! Sure, she was technically smiling at Gideon, but he was standing behind me so I got the full blow of the smile! It was amazing, her teeth are all shiny and white and strong..." James sighed, leaning his head dramatically on his friend's shoulder. "Padfoot? Is there a reason why you're starkers?"

"I always sleep starkers in my bed, Prongsie boy, you know you love it."

"Yeah, but you're not in *your* bed, you're in Moony's bed." James shuddered slightly, rolling away from the naked boy towards Remus. "You know, Moons, if he tried putting the Siri-moves on you, you can tell me, and I'll contact childline-" Sirius let out a bark of laughter at James' melodramatic display, ruffling his friend's hair affectionately.

"Moony's a big boy, Prongs, he can handle himself." Sirius laughed, winking in mock seduction towards his lupine friend.

"Besides, I think you'll find my distinct lack of tits would prevent Padfoot from ever making a move for me, Prongs!" Remus laughed, rolling out of the bed silently. Sirius watched his lean back as he stretched, before he leant over and began rifling through his trunk.

James smiled knowledgeably. "Well actua-" He started, before a firm hand cut him off, muffling the sound of his voice under strong fingers. James turned to glare at the hand's owner, but Sirius merely shrugged in reply, before shaking his head.

"I don't want him to know yet." Sirius whispered quietly, assuming Remus would not hear his low level of speech. It was on occasions such as this when James couldn't help but question his friend's supposed intellect.

"What don't you want me to know?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow as Sirius looked at him in shock. "What? Come on Sirius, you should be used to my enhanced hearing by now."

"He didn't want you to know that he has given up with romancing the human race, and has instead moved on to having relations with centaurs and unicorns." James stated calmly, throwing Sirius a look as if to say 'you will explain this later'.

"But fear not, Remus, I will let you keep your house elves for now. I find that the creatures of the woods are a much more thrilling bunch." Sirius winked, wrapping the sheets around his waist and stepping out the bed. James raised an eyebrow at his friend's modest behaviour, to which Sirius laughed. "Well, I wouldn't want you ogling my foot long companion now, would I?"

"Foot long? You're having a laugh." James retorted, finally climbing off Remus' bed. "An inch, at the most."

"I think you're being generous." Remus quipped, smiling at the affronted look that Sirius threw his way. "I'm going to get over to the hospital wing before breakfast, I'll meet you guys outside the great hall." Sirius watched as the boy dressed gingerly, frowning slightly and humming at Remus. The tawny haired boy turned and smiled at the Black teen as he observed the worried look on his friend's face, stating "I'll be fine, honestly." before he strolled out of the room.

* * *

"So, why don't you want Remus to know about your big gay adventure?" James asked minutes later, as they finished getting ready for breakfast. James threw his cloak over his t-shirt and jeans, before carefully clearing a spot on Sirius' bed in order to sit down. "After all, you're hardly one to be all shy and coy with Remus. He's not going to exactly reject you for this, now, is he?"

Sirius tried to form an answer to this question, but found that he could not. For, in all honesty, he did not truly know why he wished to withhold such information from one of his best friends. He was so open with Remus about all other things in life, so why should his sexuality make any difference? "I guess it's because I spend quite a lot of nights in Remus' bed, platonic or otherwise. Me and him are quite touchy-feely, and I don't want that to change just because I have the occasional rendevouz with male members of the Hogwarts population."

"You really think Remus would give a flying monkeys?" James asked, eyebrows frowning lightly. Sirius did not respond, merely shrugging lightly. "Look, its not my secret to tell, but I don't think you should keep something like this from Moony." Sirius leant forward from his seated position on James' bed, leaning directly into his friend's face.

"It is not your secret to tell."

"No, that's what I just said, Sirius. And I'm going to stick by that, but you need to sort your head out, cos if you are going to swing both ways or the other way or become so gay that you go full circle and become straight, he will end up finding out. If he finds out, and wasn't told by you, he *will* feel dejected as you've kept a secret from him, and I swear to God Sirius, if you upset Moony, I will not hesitate to tattoo a clown's mask on your face and throw you in a room with a load of violent coulrophobics who are armed with baseball bats. Capisce?"

"Yeah, sure. Tell Pete not to blab either, ok? That rat's got a gob the size of the Mersey when he wants to. Speaking of Pete, where on earth is that sneaky devil?" Sirius asked offhandedly, cocking his head at James.

"Well, I have it on good authority that our little rodent friend spent last night in a moonlit tryst with a certain short, chubby Hufflepuff." James smiled cheekily. Truly, he was glad that Peter had a girlfriend. Really. Even if it did mean that his sidekick was getting some whilst the proud Potter stood alone.

However, Peter's choice of partner was hardly up to James' high standards. She was a gossipy little thing, who had no idea when the hell to shut her mouth. She was bossy, and controlling, and her red hair was the colour of burnt moss, it didn't shine at all.

In reality, James supposed, she was a cheap impersonation of his Lilyflower. For darling Lily was hardly gossipy at all. Her bossiness was almost always welcome, and her hair shone fire red. Lily was, in fact, perfect, and James had decided long ago that there was no point having the rest when he could wait for the best.

James was also very lucky that the boy on the bed opposite him, Sirius Black, was impassive to Lily's magnificence. For Sirius Black did not understand the meaning of the world 'wait', and would have likely found a way to have Lily in a matter of moments. That was just the way that Sirius-bloody-Black worked.

And James hated him for it.

"A hufflepuff, eh? Is she one of the ones that rooms with Belinda?" Sirius smiled, remembering one of his favourite conquests.

"No, I think it might actually be darling Belinda's little sister. She's called Penelope." Sirius raised an eyebrow at this, mentally searching through his mind for a face to match a name. "She's hardly a girl that you'd notice, Sirius, so I sincerely doubt you know her." Sirius' inability to remember the faces of the unattractive was legendary - although generally noted for his inability to remember names, this effect was increased tenfold when the individual was not the god/goddess that Sirius' standards demanded.

"Fair enough. Point her out to me in the Great Hall, I want to see what our little Pete has been going with." Sirius smiled, his canine teeth glinting in the sunlight. "Now that our little rat has a girlfriend, I guess its time to set you up, Jamie boy." A manic smile graced the Black features, reminding James of Bellatrix Black, Sirius' lunatic cousin who he'd had the misfortune of meeting that summer.

"Sorry Black, I'm saving myself for perfection. You'll have to focus on someone else's love life. Yours, perhaps. If you're really desperate, I'm sure Remus will go and charm some women with you."

"But Moony's dating style is boring! He doesn't pick up chicks, he courts women for long amounts of time until he eventually leaves them when there's a risk of them finding out about the furry little problem. And anyway, I can't think of any girls that are really Remus-y material."

"What about that Deborah, the booky one that was friends with Amigdala? She was nice, and relatively Remus-friendly." James thought, watching Sirius shake his head disapprovingly.

"No no, she is far too conservative and reserved. Remus needs a free spirit to bring out the 'real Remus'." Sirius tapped his chin contemplatively, before clapping his hands upon his legs and standing up rapidly. "No, I shall find someone who is suited for Remus, don't you worry. It will take craft, and cunning, and my fantasmical charm in order to find the ultimate partner for Remus John Lupin."

"That poor poor boy." James muttered under his breath, slowly raising to his feet. Standing a half a head above Sirius, he ruffled the dark shiny hair below him, huffing slightly when it returned to its original flowing shape immediately. "Come on, lets get down to breakfast. I might not be able to muck up your hair, but I sure as hell can try to fatten you up a bit."

* * *

Remus' first day back had been relatively uneventful (excluding the moment when Lily had thrown herself upon him, earning Remus daggers from James), and for that he was incredibly glad. The day had been primarily occupied by amusing Sirius and catching up on the work he had missed, two jobs which he was more than happy to do.

However, as the quarter-moon rose, he found himself alone in the dorms, revelling in the comfort of a novel. Knowing the quiet would not last long, he sped through the book, reading as much as possible before the inevitable disturbance.

Before long, heavy footsteps on the stairs revealed the end of the silence. Remus glanced up from his book at Sirius, briefly returning his eyes to the novel before he realised the taught form of Sirius' muscles, and the glint in the animagus' eyes. The werewolf lifted his head once more, barely having time to think before he was flattened by 11 stone of teenager. After recovering from the initial shock, Remus blinked, noting the silver eyes that hovered inches above his own.

"Missed you." Sirius panted, lifting himself onto his elbows either side of Remus' face. "Its hard enough not seeing you for the summer. I can't go an extra 3 weeks without my favourite wolfie." The animagus stated, ruffling his friend's ashy hair.

"I could hardly avoid being late this year, Pads." Remus reasoned, propping himself onto his own elbows as Sirius rolled back onto his haunches, still straddling the werewolf's lap. "Off, Pads. I think you've crushed my copy of Thirty-Three Steps..."

"Not until you promise you wont be late again." Remus rolled his eyes, forcefully lifting Sirius off his lap with his lupine strength, and placing him carefully on the bed. After tutting at his now-ruined copy of Thirty Three Steps, Remus crouched in front of the pouting, dark haired teen.

"Sirius, you know I can't promise that. Even if I did promise, I'd probably be lying. There's two many variables to be able to accurately predict whether or not I'll be late or not next year. Now stop looking at me like that. Want to go down to the kitchens?" Remus took Sirius by the wrist, making to go down the staircase, before the grip was returned by Sirius, rooting Remus to the spot. After a short sigh, the teen turned to face his friend once more.

"Forget the variables and statistics and whatnot. Promise you'll try. Please." Sirius asked, using the leverage of Remus' wrist to pull himself to a standing position close to the werewolf. Golden-amber met Silver, as the pair stared each other out, battling silently for dominance. Finally, the golden orbs closed, as a long arm draped itself across Sirius' shoulders, manoeuvring him towards the door.

"You know I try, Sirius. I always try, and I always will. But I can't prevent the occasional week or two where I can't be here. Ok? Now, come on. You're going to find me some chocolate. I haven't had any in an age."

"Can't have Remmiepoo not having any chocolate, now, can we?" Sirius smiled, throwing an arm over his friend's shoulders. "Now, Moonsy. Tell me what you like in a girl..."

* * *

**AN: I've written a lottle here, so please review! I brought moonsikins in and everything, so come on, think of it as charity! Also, do people have a preference - rapid, shorter updates or weekly, longer updates?**

**Reviewers: emuroo, dristi, deciesjo, .girl, chibikuro rose-sama, marauder black, VampiressBlack, Mater motley, YeahYouWannaKnowMyName, touchthemoon985, xrosiex, ellesra, luna nera, niceaspie, lady annikaa, appelmeisje, reivewgrl, ravenclawroyalty, loquaciousgirl, teddybear 8P, Evening 12, LoverFaery, Blackbelt Barbie.**

^^ All of the people above are my fave people on at the current time. I just wanted to dedicate this to them, and to anyone else who has been forced to wait for the appearance of Remus!

Love you lots like jelly tots/vodka shots (delete as appropriate)

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm so glad you're back, Remus" Lily Evans stated blissfully as the pair sat on the soft bank of the lake. "I've had no one to talk to! Really talk to, at least. All the girls in my dormitory seem quite content to talk to me about how amazing Black's hair is, or how I 'really should go out with James, cos, like, oh my God, you'd be so sweet'. Another week of this and I fear I would have been sectioned in St Mungos!" Lily laughed, rolling her large emerald eyes.

"Well, they only speak the truth I'm afraid." Remus smiled tightly, breaking into a laugh as Lily punched his arm. "He's probably calmed down a bit this year, maybe you should-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Remus Lupin!" Lily exclaimed, huffing loudly. "You haven't seen him and Black yet this year. They threw me in the lake! Well, Black threw me in the lake, but no doubt Potter played a part in it. Lord knows Black doesn't have enough brain cells to think of something without that messy haired fool to add his own meagre collection of brain matter to the planning circle. And the other day, they charmed Severus' hair orange, and now every time he coughs orange juice pours out of his ears." Remus sat as still as possible during Lily's explanation of events, willing himself not to laugh, but couldn't prevent the amused huff that was emitted at the mental image of the Slitherin's unfortunate condition.

"O-orange juice?" Remus asked, attempting to maintain his composure. It was a relatively unsuccessful attempt, however, and he had to forcibly contract his muscles to lower the smile appearing on his lips.

"They tried to charm his nose into a carrot as well. That didn't quite go to plan though..." Now Lily looked on the verge of laughter also, covering her mouth momentarily with the back of her hand to compose herself. "They mispronounced the spell, so it wasn't the nasal shaft that was affected, but rather another, lower shaft." Lily snorted, as Remus clasped his hand over his mouth rapidly, eyes closing tightly to prevent the peels of laughter rising in his chest. "Rather unfortunate, I'm sure you'll agree. No telling anyone, you hear?" Lily stated, lips pursed tightly still to prevent laughter bursting through.

"Is it - back to normal?" Remus inquired.

"They managed to get it back to normal shape. But they couldn't get the colour to go away." Lily stated, lips drawn as tightly as possible. The pair on the grass faced each other, each examining the other's face momentarily until the eventual ring of laughter was forced through Remus' lips. The moment Lily heard the deep rumble, her lips upturned also, and lighter giggles rang alongside the deep tones which Remus emitted. After a few minutes of unconcealed laughter, Remus composed himself slightly, drawing his lips into an impassive line once more.

"How terrible." He stated, lips twitching slightly. "Impressive charms work though, it must be said."

"Well, yes. I suppose it was." Lily smiled, sighing lightly at the misfortunes of her old friend. "I do wish they would leave him alone, but sometimes I can't help but think that Severus does himself no favours. I think he made a 'mudblood' comment, and the day I see James let one of those go will be the day-"

"You marry James?" Remus finished, raising an eyebrow as he guessed the conclusion of Lily's statement. The redhead blushed accordingly, smiling at their familiarity.

"Well, I suppose. Or the day that Sirius Black reclaims his virginity and turns to a nunnery. Either or." Lily smiled, white teeth peeking between her lips. "He's not had so many women yet this year, I see."

"No, I suppose he hasn't." Remus answered, lips curving upwards. "Well, at least not slept with many - he hasn't brought out the 'Sometimes I feel like you could complete me' line yet." Remus smiled, rolling his eyes at Sirius' standardised 'sex up' line.

"I've heard a good few 'Has anyone ever told you what absolutely smashing eyes you have?'s though." Lily laughed, poorly impersonating the Black teen. "So we know that he's been snogging half the population at least, even if he hasn't been sleeping with them." Lily stated, before her face was marred with a mixed look of excitement and annoyance. "Well, speak of the devil." She muttered, flicking her eyes towards the castle.

Remus turned to see James and Sirius descending the castle steps, bounding towards them. Remus smiled welcomingly at his friends, unsurprised as Sirius threw himself upon his seated form.

"Moony! We've been looking everywhere for you, my ashy haired friend." Sirius declared, body pinning Remus to the bank. "I can't believe you ditched me for a girl, darling. And an annoying one, at that!" He smiled, body elongating to match the equally tall form of his friend.

"Hey!" Lily and James declared simultaneously. After glancing at one another, James took over, Lily huffing silently. "Pads, as much as we love watching you harass Moony, I think he'd appreciate regaining the ability to breathe."

"Pah, Remmie doesn't need to breathe when he's got me. I'm a million times better than air." Sirius declared, rolling off Remus nonetheless. "You don't need to be jealous, Jamsie, I'll always have a space in my heart for you. I'm afraid there is no designated Evans space in there though, darling, and for this I am eternally sorry." Sirius declared dramatically.

"Oh no, Black, however shall I live." Lily replied sarcastically, moving away from the trio. "Have fun with your manly ménage á trois, see you tomorrow Remus." Remus waved once in response, before turning to his two friends. "So, what have you two been up to?" Remus asked, leaning back to prop himself upon his elbows and gain the most out of the waning rays of sunlight.

"Looking for you." James declared, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Padfoot wasn't exaggerating when he said we've looked everywhere for you, bloody mangy mutt has been desperate to see you."

"Well, I've been out here will Lily all day. I needed to catch up with her, I've been back a week now and barely seen her!" Remus declared with a small laugh, looking accusingly at the boy laying beside him. "A certain someone has been keeping me occupied all week, so I figured I'd spend my Sunday with my non-maraudering friends."

"Don't be silly, you don't have non-maraudering friends. Only acquaintances." Sirius smiled, rolling to place his head in his friend's lap. "And I haven't seen you in 12 hours! Twelve! That's practically a lifetime in dog years Moonsy, how did I know you hadn't been courted by a sly serpentine, or attacked by a monkey high on onions? Honestly, I think I need to get you tagged so I can keep track of you a bit better. Or maybe I could make a potion of somesorts, so you can't go further than 10 foot away from me! Brilliant. I'll be needing some-"

"No!" James and Remus both declared, smiling at the disgruntled look on Sirius' face. "As lovely as that sounds, Pads, I rather enjoy my freedom." Remus laughed, scratching his friend's head absently.

"Not to mention, Remmie-boy here needs to keep up the contact with my darling Lilyflower! He can gage precious information for me, can't you Moony? Did she mention which type of flowers she likes? Or maybe her favourite chocolate frog card?" James asked eagerly, clapping a hand onto his friend's shoulder.

"He could be gaging precious information for you. Or, he could be plotting a cunning plan to have Lily for himself!" Sirius declared, rolling off Remus and kneeling in front of him, ignoring the gnawing feeling that passed through his bones at the thought of Remus romancing Lily. James' face contorted, and he mirrored Sirius' position within seconds.

"Moony. You better not be bloody crushing on my woman." James growled, causing Remus to raise an eyebrow at the aggression radiating from his friend.

"No. Padfoot, stop putting ideas in his head, you mangy mutt. Prongs, I've been friends with Lily for a long time now, and although I know you both think I'm very slow when it comes to romancing a girl, I'm not that slow." Remus smiled, hoisting himself up and offering a hand to each of his friends. "Lets get up to the dorms, we've got a long day tomorrow."

"Yes mama Remus." James laughed, taking the proffered hand and bouncing up, towards the castle. Sirius waited momentarily, staring at the hand he was offered and the boy - no, man - who offered it.

Whether it was the way the light bounced off Remus' muscular shape, or the angle between the two boys, or the way the wind was blowing, Sirius didn't know. But he couldn't help but stare at the figure in front of him, so different from the small 11 year old he had met 5 years ago. Still quiet and slight, but not much remained of the stuttering stunted child that had climbed on the Hogwarts express all those years ago.

Now a six foot teen, the hollow cheeks had filled slightly, leaving an angelic face where there had once been skeletal caverns. A slight smile graced the once scowling lips, no longer as chapped as they had been with youth. Grade 5 haircuts had been replaced with longer, ear length locks and whilst scars still covered Remus' neck, they no longer looked like the brash and unwelcome injuries that had made many question whether or not to befriend the young boy, but more a ghost of a harsh history, a whispered memory that barely grazed the surface.

Sirius gazed down the long extended arm, noting the long scarred fingers attached to the strong hands, before gazing back up at the face in front of him, which now bore a bemused look. "Are you going to take my hand, or are we going to stay here all night till the mosquitos eat us whole?" Remus asked, beckoning Sirius with his outstretched hand. Sirius finally grabbed the hand, using it as leverage to raise him to standing level. The fingers intertwined as Sirius steadied himself, the dark haired teen raising a hand to his friend's shoulder to further assist with the change in footing.

Remus smiled as Sirius caught his eye, lips breaking into a grin as he gazed at Sirius intensely. "When did we grow up?" The ashy teen whispered, lips twitching as he untwined his hand from that of his friend and stepped back slightly and stared towards the castle, where James stood waiting on the steps.

"Come on you two!" He laughed, rolling a miniature snitch in between his long fingers. "I don't want you guys moaning in the morning that you're shattered." Remus smiled at Sirius once more, grabbing his elbow and jogging towards the castle, up and away from the private spark that had been released only moments before.

* * *

Sirius sat in the common room, bored out of his wits. Peter and Remus had left, preferring the comfort of their beds to his company more than an hour ago, and James was so busy completing some last minute Charms homework that he could barely spare a moment for his canine friend.

This would have been the biggest problem of the decade, if it wasn't for the imminent entrance of Gideon Prewett. Chaser on the Gryffindor quidditch team, he was a year older than the marauders and a good friend of James'.

Also known as the only openly gay man in Hogwarts.

Sirius smiled charmingly, gazing round the common room once to ensure that it was empty save for himself, James and the object of his desires. Satisfied with the emptiness, he stood rapidly, walking over to Prewett with the confidence of a man twice his age.

"Gideon." Sirius smiled, practically feeling James roll his eyes behind him. "Has anyone ever told you what absolutely smashing eyes you have?"

* * *

Sirius crept into the dorm, glancing at the clock briefly to check the time. 'quarter to one, not too bad' he hummed, sighing slightly as he stared at his own bed. Glancing at Remus' bed, he barely took a moment to think before he was at his friend's curtains, whispering 'Moony' quietly in the hopes of gaging some response.

A week without the comforting smell of that small blanket at night was taking its toll on Sirius, and he realised with a jolt that he hadn't managed a night of full sleep since the lupine had returned, and Sirius had kept to his promise and sacrificed the comfortable bed in favour of his own, messy one.

"Sup Pads?" Remus moaned tiredly, pulling his curtains open with a strong hand.

"I'm lonely." Sirius whispered in response. He smiled lightly as the blankets were rolled back for him, climbing in immediately. He was about to roll into Remus as per usual, when he realised something horrific.

His breath still smelt of the man whose tongue had slid between his lips mere minutes earlier. Swearing internally, Sirius had to bite down the urge to yell at the revelation, feeling strangely dirty with the taste of another man as he lay beside his best friend. Sirius climbed out of bed rapidly, declaring that he would be back imminently as he ran to clean his teeth thoroughly, only returning to the comforting sheets when the taste of sin was exorcised from his lips.

* * *

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**


	7. Chapter 7

Remus Lupin tutted as a rolled up parchment clipped the back of his head. With an annoyed look at the sheepish looking thrower, he unrolled the parchment slowly.

_Mssr Padfoot would like to know why Mssr Moony looks like he has a stick up his arse._

_Msr Moony is very tired, and would appreciate it if a certain Mssr Padfoot would keep his large nose very far out of Mssr Moony's business._

_Mssr Padfoot thinks Mssr Moony can be a moody sod when he wants to be._

_Mssr Moony would like to remind Mssr Padfoot to check his Lunar Calendars, and point out that Mssr Moony has a very good reason for being a moody sod occasionally._

_Mssr Padfoot did not realise that it was almost that time of the month, and would like to offer Mssr Moony his sincerest condolences, and maybe a hug._

_Mssr Moony does not accept hugs from arsey intrusive strangers._

_Mssr Padfoot takes offense in being considered a stranger. _

_Mssr Moony is deeply sorry for any psychological trauma which he may have inflicted upon Mssr Padfoot. However, Mssr Moony also wishes to learn some Transfiguration, and would appreciate an hour without the interruptions of Mssr Padfoot._

_Mssr Padfoot's main aim in life is to interrupt Mssr Moony._

_Mssr Prongs would like to briefly interrupt and ask if Madmoiselle Lilyflower is truly glowing, or if that is the ring of love haloing her hair in Mssr Prong's mind._

_Mssr Padfoot can confirm that Mssr Prongs is losing his mind, and would suggest that Mssr Prongs seek help from a counsellor, as Evans is definitely not glowing. Mssr Padfoot would go as far to say that Evans is looking decidedly blah today, and has a nose redder than her hair. If Mssr Prongs had any sense, then Mssr Prongs go and offer her a tissue and some cold medicine._

_Mssr Prongs would like to know if offering her the aforementioned cold medicine would convince Madmoiselle Lilyflower to date Mssr Prongs._

_Mssr Moony is positive that implying Mme Lily is looking anything less than perfect would damage Mssr Prong's chances of getting even a polite 'hello' from Mme Lily._

_Mssr Prongs would like to thank Mssr Moony on his input, for Mssr Moony is truly the most helpful Marauder in the world. Mssr Prongs would also like to point out that Mssr Padfoot is an arse, and if Mssr Padfoot can't remember a simple thing like Mssr Moony's time of the month, then maybe Mssr Padfoot should grovel. Lots. _

_Mssr Moony shall take this opportunity to agree with Mssr Prongs. Mssr Moony would also like to declare that he fully intends to return to studying, and shall from hereon in not be replying to any godforsaken notes passed in the general vacinity of Mssr Moony. _

_Mssr Prongs is also out, in order to observe the delicate beauty of Madmoiselle Lilyflower in this soft lighting._

_Mssr Padfoot cannot believe the Marauders are abandoning Mssr Padfoot in favour of studying or a girl, as Mssr Padfoot would never abandon one of the Marauders for something as fickle as education or sex. _

_Mssr Wormtail is available for conversation, if Mssr Padfoot is bored._

_Mssr Padfoot is sorry to announce that he shall be studying imminently, and can no longer participate in this conversation._

_

* * *

_

"Its been too long." James smiled briefly at Sirius as the pair watched their rodent friend tap the knot of roots that froze the gargantuan tree in front of them. The willow's movements tightened slowly, until all that moved was the soft rustle of leaves that were caught in the wind.

"Hmm." Sirius drummed in reply, brow creasing as the pair followed the rat into the tunnel. "I suppose." He muttered as they approached the narrow entrance to the Shack, following Peter's lead and shuffling through the point of entry. Once in, the trio turned to the window, examining the ailing sun. "We've got at least 20 minutes." Sirius announced, flailing his arms at the sofa in the corner, chewed and torn to the point of near destruction. "Make yourselves comfortable. I'll go and check how our little wolfie friend is doing."

James nodded in response, throwing two rotund objects at his pureblooded friend. Sirius caught them deftly, raising an eyebrow as he eyed the two puffs. "Pumpkin Pastries?" He scoffed, looking at James for confirmation.

James' swift reply of "Moony likes them." quickly quietened his canine friend, who proceeded to climb the stairs with haste. Opening the first door he came to, he watched silently as a long robe pooled at his friend's feet, before the lycan dipped down to retrieve it.

"Don't strip for my benefit, Moons." Sirius smiled, leaning against the door frame as Remus turned, acknowledging his presence with a swift nod. The werewolf stretched, vest riding up invitingly as he span to fully face his friend.

Sirius couldn't help but notice the feral gleam in his friend's eye, glinting ferociously in the dimming beams of sunlight. Eyes shone pure gold, as opposed to their usual amber, and Sirius immediately knew that he and Remus weren't the only forces at play in this conversation.

"Well hello Moony." He whispered under his breath, smiling as canine teeth grimaced a smile in return. "How long has Mr Moony had control, Rem?" Sirius asked softly, reaching over to take the robe off the man in front of him. Placing the robe between floorboards, he looked up at his friend, knowing that the human side was fighting for brief control.

"Only about 10 minutes." Remus replied, eyes hovering between gold and amber. "I lose control later and later now." He smiled softly.

"Thats good." Sirius returned the smiled. The human in front of him was tired, Sirius could tell, but the werewolf fragments under the surface was bubbling, waiting for the moon to rise so that he could regain the semblance of control he had over the softly spoken boy for one day a month. Muscles convulsed softly alongside him, causing Sirius to raise an eyebrow and cast a glance at the slither of sun left above the horizon.

"Time for you to leave." Remus clenched, grabbing onto the bed with one hand, taking off his vest with the other. Sirius reached over, overcome by the strength and vulnerability of his friend. A hand ran through the tawny locks before Remus pulled away, muttering a final 'go' as his bones began to shatter and reform.

Sirius closed the door behind his friend briefly, allowing for a moment of privacy as screams turned to howls and gasps turned to pants. A final glance at the now-splintering door was all Sirius needed, and within moments the tall dark pureblood was replaced by a shining, grim dog, eager to commence the night's activities.

* * *

Sirius rolled over with a groan as the sun rose, arm determined to block out the harsh beams of sunlight that tore apart his delicate corneas. His whole body ached dully, a soft throb emanating from every pore in his body. _ I'm never moving. Never again. _

Suddenly, his peace was disturbed by a low groan from across the room. Immediately recognising it as Remus', Sirius jumped up, turning to glare at the source of Remus' discomfort.

James Potter stood across the room, a blanket-wrapped Moony in his arms, as he lifted the light boy onto the bed in the center of the room. Sirius growled apprehensively, unnerved by his friend's participation in what was normally labelled a 'Sirius job'.

"Morning Paddy." James whispered, lowering their mutual friend gently onto the broken bed.

"Why were you moving Remus?" Sirius asked with annoyance, crossing his arms grumpily over his chest.

"Well, since the wolf kicked your butt pretty badly last night, I figured you could use with some rest." James smiled, looking down at Remus briefly. "He's a bit battered, but nothing too horrific."

"Its a Sirius job to move Moony." Sirius grumbled, walking over to the bed.

"I didn't think it would be a problem." James stated, raising his eyebrow deftly. "No need to go all possessive on me Pads." Clapping a hand on his conscious friend's shoulder. "Peter's gone to go and get breakfast, I told him to bring some stuff back for you and Moony. I've got to get to Quidditch practice in a bit, but I can be late if you want a hand getting Moons up to the hospital wing?"

"I can manage." Sirius glared, shrugging James' hand off his shoulder and moving over to the window. "It must be, what, 11AM? Why didn't you wake me up?! Remus could have been really badly hurt, we normally have to get him over to Pomfrey before 10!"

"Because," James stated through gritted teeth, crossing his arms across his chest. "I could quite clearly see that Moony was fine, and I figured you could use a bit of a lie in. Don't go thinking you're the only one that cares about Remus, Sirius."

The pair glared at each other, until eventually Sirius closed his eyes tiredly. "Yes, I know. I'm just worried about him, that's all." Sirius sat on the bed, and James went to stand in front of him, laying a strong hand on either shoulder.

"I know. But honestly, Remus is going to live. He'll be sore for a good few days, but come on Pads, its Remus. Remus Bloody Lupin. And Remus Bloody Lupin would be very very annoyed if he would hear how we are molly-coddling him."

"Remus Bloody Lupin is more annoyed about the fact both of you don't understand the meaning of the word 'whisper'." A hoarse voice gasped behind Sirius. Sirius turned to face the gaunt figure on the bed, eyes shining amber below him. "Hello Pads."

"Moony." Sirius smiled, reaching over to run a hand through the ash-blond hair. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll live." Remus grimaced, attempting to pull himself into a seated position. Growling slightly as a hand on his chest held him down, he glared at the hand's owner in annoyance.

"Don't you dare even try sitting up again. I want you resting for a little bit longer, at least." Sirius smiled. A soft, but deliberate, cough reminded Sirius that the pair weren't alone, and he span to face his tall friend. "Go to quidditch, I'll be fine getting him over to Pomfrey when the time comes. Oh, and tell Peter not to come back , I'm sure he'll be more than grateful to get back to the kitchen."

"Peter's meant to be bringing you food though." James stated. Rolling his eyes lightly, Sirius dug around in his robe pocket, grabbing his wand and waving it distractedly.

"Accio whatever food Peter Pettigrew has upon his person" Sirius muttered, realising his mistake all too late.

A myriad of foodstuffs flung themselves through the door, from puff pastries to toast to an entire stick of butter and several slightly crushed chocolate frogs. Gobstoppers covered in fluff smashed through the windows, whilst a variety of liquideous products, from pumpkin juice to rice pudding oozed through the floorboards. James ran over to the door, slamming it as he heard a melange of pastry-based goods slam against it, whilst Sirius pushed the dresser in front of the window and pulled the rug over the seeping floorboards. The boys sighed momentarily, until they heard a whistling sound from above. Looking upwards, the two mobile boys walked towards the bed, trying to locate the source of the noise. They only had to wait moments before something burst through the ceiling, showering the room's three occupants with white powder.

"What. The. Fuck." James hissed, looking at his two friends. The three stood in silence for a moment or two, before light laughter began emanating from the bed-bound boy. Soon enough, Sirius joined in, unable to resist laughing at the spectacle in front of him, and eventually even James began chuckling, the laughter proving infectious. Licking his arm tentatively, he sighed in relief "Its just icing sugar." He smiled, watching as Sirius leant forward to dust off Remus' face. Remus soon returned the favour, licking his own fingers free of the sweet powder when he was finished.

James decided to pretend that he hadn't seen the look of desire on Sirius' face at this unintentionally sexual movement, instead shaking his head rapidly, watching in amusement as a cloud of the powder formed around his face.

* * *

Scant minutes later, when the three teenagers had finished cleaning their faces and arms, a rotund figure burst through the door, arms flailing. "Guys, guys, I'm so sorry, I was walking from the castle with the food when suddenly WHAM, it all started flying away! I tried to grab some of it, but OOF, the pastries started attacking me with a vigour not unlike that of the giant squid if you anger it! Then suddenly - hey, why is there rice pudding leaking through the floorboards?" Peter panted, confused by the scene in front of him. "And why are you covered in" he sniffed lightly, testing the smell of the three boys "Icing sugar? Come to think of it, I'm sure I had those exact same gobstoppers in my pocket not 5 minutes ago. When I wouldn't let them go, one of them decided that burying itself in one of my nostrils was a good idea."

"Sorry, Tail. My fault, I cast an accio charm with a bit too loose a description of what I wanted." Sirius stated, now lying next to his werewolf friend. "Why don't you go and cast some hardcore cleaning spells on James - the boy needs a good clean before Quidditch in 10 minutes. I'll stay here with Rem and clean up a bit."

"Ok. Come on James, lets go!" Peter smiled, waving at the pair lying on the bed and leaving the room pretty quickly. James was slower, going over to the bed briefly to check Remus once more before he left.

"If Padfoot tries to eat you, you know where to find me." James smiled, grasping Remus' shoulder. "Call me if you need a hand cleaning this place up."

"Will do Prongs." Sirius smiled, watching as the boy alongside him nodded tiredly and their friend left the room. Sirius shuffled up the bed, lying so that Remus' head rested nicely on his shoulder. As the werewolf slipped into a light slumber, Sirius get to work on cleaning his friend.

Running his hands through the now-white hair in front of him, he brushed the powder out with his fingers, determined to return the hair to its former glory. Once partially satisfied with the state of his friend's hair, Sirius set to work on the hardest job - cleaning the injuries.

Sliding out from underneath his friend, Sirius conjured a bowl of warm, soapy water and set to work on cleaning the younger boy. Dipping his hands into the water, the pureblood was glad to find a small soft sponge, and began running it slowly across the face of his friend, allowing him to adjust to the feeling. He ran the sponge downwards, allowing it to glance over the cuts scraped across his friend's neck, apologising quietly as his friend's muscles protested at the action. The sponge traced arms, cleaning lightly to ensure that no sugar was left in any of the small scratches across the biceps, until they returned to the neck once more. Scraping the sponge across the small slice of exposed chest in front of him, Sirius allowed his fingers to lead the sponge across his friend's clavicles, before descending slightly lower.

Reaching the top of the blanket, Sirius ran the sponge along the edge, knowing his friend's nipples were only inches below. Forgetting for a moment where he was, the teen allowed the sponge to run slightly below the blanket, before a hand stilled his movements. "There's no icing sugar down there, Sirius." The werewolf smiled, eyes still shut.

"No, I suppose there's not." Sirius stated, placing the sponge back in the bowl and lying beside his friend once more. "Have you got any bad cuts?"

"I don't think so." Remus stretched, smiling lightly. "I'd offer you some blanket, but I'm afraid that would leave me indecently exposed, and lord knows what the Ministry would do with me if I exposed myself to a Black without sufficient permission." Sirius laughed lightly, allowing his arm to rest around his friend's shoulders.

"Prongs would most likely argue your case for you, declaring that i was the one that forced you into being indecently exposed." Sirius smiled, leaning in to purr in his friend's ear "You know I can charm the pants off of anyone." The pair laughed briefly, before Sirius slid them both down the bed. "Since you're not too badly injured, we can afford to catch a few more minutes shut eye. Night night m'Moony."

"Night night Padfoo-" Remus yawned tiredly, not protesting in the slightest as his friend's arm pulled the werewolf inwards, allowing the tawny head to rest on the other's chest.

And so, curled around one another, they slowly drifted to sleep, wolf and dog silent in the whistling house.

* * *

And that was how Mme Pomfrey found them 4 hours later, when she went to find her missing favourite patient. A small smile graced her features as she watched the pair, before softly waking them and regrettably forcing the pair up to the hospital wing, deciding not to question how Sirius knew where the shrieking shack was, or how Remus was so uninjured, or why Sirius' arm was wrapped so tightly around the werewolf's shoulders.

Mme Pomfrey knew, though. Oh, she knew. But sometimes ignorance, even if feigned, truly is bliss.

* * *

**Soooo? Whaddayathink? I'm sorry this is *a whole week* late, but I wrote a one shot last week that was floating round in my head, and I wanted to blast that story out before that plot bunny disrupted this story. Its called 'Poor Little Rich Boy' and it is on my profile now, but I must say that there is M/M SEX in it, and so if you don't feel that you are mature enough to read that sort of thing, don't! I've got some pretty good feedback on it so far, which makes me uber happy. =)**

**Reviewers - CeliaLauna, Cain, rekahneko, Artificial Starlight, ProtegoNox, evil-sami-poo, MenervaEvenstar, VampiressBlack, emuroo, Rome J Wolf, .Girl, chibikuro rose-sama, PaD, Lady Annikaa, , planeteer-rach, XquidditchxbeaterX, xrosiex, TeddyBear 8P**

**You guys all rock my socks, and inspire me almost as much as Moony and Padfoot! (theres 19 of you!! 19!! yayy)**

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

**Happy Good Friday!**

* * *

"You've been back for a month now, M'Moony. I think its about time you started wearing muggle clothes again, don't you?" Sirius smiled, reaching into his trunk and pulling out an assortment of trousers and tops. "Ok, so you'll be needing tops, and lots of them. We're the same size, so just take any that you want - oh dear, is that a mesh top? that was a mistake - and I'll find some jeans for you to wear."

The pair sat in front of Sirius' trunk, the contents of which were slowly engulfing the dorm floor as Sirius threw more and more items out onto the heathen rug. "Sirius..." Remus stated worriedly, lifting up a few of the crumpled shirts experimentally, attempting to smooth the crushed garments. "Are you sure about this? I mean, these are your clothes..."

"Yes, and? We share everything else, Moonipops, I don't see why we can't share a wardrobe to an extent. Now these, these are classics." Sirius stated, holding up a pair of crotchless leather chaps. "Would you like them Moons? They'd probably look better on you than on me, to be honest."

"I'll be fine thanks." Remus retorted drily, huffing in annoyance and whipping his wand out, magically folding the crumpled garments. "I don't suppose you've got any cardigans?" Remus tried hopefully, looking at his handiwork with satisfaction.

"God no! Cardigans are for grandads, Moonsy, and I won't have you wearing them for a good few years now. Look, you normally throw those cardigans over band tees, yes? So take some of the band tees, yes, they can be worn without a cardigan, don't give me that look. Ok, and these jumpers, you can take any of those if you want. Now, jeans. Which pair would you prefer?"

"That pair is covered in flowers, Sirius." Remus stated, pointing at the paler pair of jeans skeptically.

Squinting, Sirius found the source of Remus' amusement. A group of stitched marks adorned the top corner of the jeans, fanning out across the top of the leg. "They're not flowers! They're... celtic symbols."

"Whatever you say, Pads." Remus smiled, taking the other pair of jeans off his friend. "You can keep the flower power jeans, I'm not going hippy for you." He smiled, grabbing one of the plain striped t shirts and popping into the bathroom. Emerging, Sirius smiled oddly.

Remus didn't look normal wearing Sirius' clothes. They fitted him, for a start, unlike his old 'I'll grow into them' numbers. There was no frays or rips in the pieces, which normally adorned the boy's clothing, and the tightness of the top seemed to make Remus stand different, taller. It was like looking at an alternative Remus, one that was much more relaxed and outgoing.

_Remus if he hadn't been bitten. _Sirius mused, smiling encouragingly at his friend. "Looks good. The ladies of Hogwarts won't know what's hit them."

"Oh that's good. Because it was really my wardrobe that was holding me back before in that department Pads." Remus smiled, reaching over to cuff his friend round the head. Sirius laughed as Remus picked up a jumper, throwing it on over the tight top. He proceeded to do what could only be described as a 'snuggle' into the large jumper, letting the large fabric engulf him momentarily.

"Only you, Remus, would manage to pick up the only jumper in my entire collection that is anything other than skintight." Sirius laughed, reaching over to hand Remus another, smaller jumper. "It was a gift from Mrs Pettigrew, I didn't have the heart to tell her I wasn't an XXL."

Remus smiled, shrugging out of the oversized jumper and his t-shirt in order to transfer to the tight jumper. Sirius watched with a grin, reaching forward to glance his fingers over a particularly large scar just below Remus' left ribcage. "That one's new." He stated, looking up at the face of his friend. Remus raised a calm eyebrow, pulling the new jumper over his head.

"I got it at the beginning of summer." He smiled, tugging at the hem of the shirt to ensure all skin was efficiently covered. "It wasn't very deep, but kept re-opening, unfortunately. Pomfrey said its not infected or anything, so I'm not going to worry about another scar. Another one to add to the millions more, eh?"

"Don't let it be the straw that broke the camel's back now, moons. It doesn't look bad at all - it looks a bit like a feather. We went on a joyful family trip to the theatre over the summer, and there was this quote in it - don't look at me like that Moony, I do pay attention to some things - from Man Of La Mancha? Its this muggle musical, it wasn't very good, but there was one quote, and gods moony, it made me think of you. _'one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage — to reach the unreachable star.'_"

"Thank you Sirius, that's a lovely quote." Remus smiled encouragingly, reaching over to pat Sirius on the knee.

Sirius returned the smile, looking up at the standing boy from his place on the floor. "Now, its a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. May I propose an afternoon of procrastinating followed by a night in Hogsemade?"

"You may propose it, but I shall have to decline your invitation, I'm afraid. I'm tutoring tonight." Sirius moaned as Remus stated this, lying back to roll on the floor dramatically.

"Oh god, let me guess, some innocent looking Ravenclaw has asked for your help. _Remus, can you help me with my charms homework please? I'm so sorry, I just don't understand this bit. Remus, is there any chance we can start those transfiguration revision sessions this week instead, only I don't understand what we did yesterday. Hey, Remus, wanna go fuck?" _Sirius mocked, tilting his head and rolling strands of hair between his fingers, before sticking his tongue out at the teen now hovering above him.

"I can assure you that none of the Ravenclaws have ever said 'Hey Remus, want to go fuck." Remus replied monotonously, bending down to hover just over his friend's face.

"Well that's a shame darling. They don't know what they're missing out on." Sirius winked cheekily, unsurprised when a hand flew down to bat his face half heartedly. "Help me up. If I can't spend the night tormenting you, you can be damn sure that I'm going to be with you every second this afternoon!" Sirius bounced, grabbing Remus' hand and dragging him down to the common room.

"Oh, Joy."

* * *

"Why hello darling." Sirius purred, sliding down alongside the lithe boy beside him. A head full of garish blond hair and large brown eyes greeted Sirius, who released his offputtingly charming smile at the poor unsuspecting teen. "Has anyone ever told you what absolutely smashing eyes you have?" He grinned, long toned fingers threading through the teen's smaller hand.

"I-well-thank you." The unidentified boy stuttered, smiling nervously as he tapped his other hand on his thigh.

"They remind me of pools of chocolate, deep and rich. I would so willingly drown myself in your caramel oceans if you gave me a chance." Sirius recited, maintaining eye contact with the teenager alongside him, running a hand through the hair in front of him. Bringing the hand back to this entranced boy's face, Sirius leant forward intimately, bringing his lips towards the boy's ear. "What say we find somewhere a-"

"Padfoot, Moony's coming." James stated loudly across the empty common room, not looking up from his divination book. Sirius jumped up and threw his poor prey off the sofa, looking around wildly. The flummoxed boy scowled at the marauder's callous behaviour, and immediately stood up and retreated to his dormitory with a huff.

"Hey, I don't see my Moony." Sirius glared, arms crossing across his chest indignantly as he spun to notice the absence of the boy he had, moments before, been romancing. "Dammit, he got away. All that hard work, wasted." Sirius huffed in annoyance. "Prrrrooongsss, why did you lie to mee?" He whined, going over to sit on the table opposite his friend.

"Because Moony may have been coming, and then that would have been bad. He's been back for over a month now, you've kissed about a fifth of the male population over 15, and yet not a word to one of your best friends." James replied, brow furrowing, reaching over for his empty tea cup. "I think I've got a nail and a pair of pincers. Symbolic of losing a tooth. Fair enough."

"But he's not coming, so it wouldn't have been bad." Sirius retorted, reaching for the teacup and squinting. "Looks more like an apple and a knife to me, mate."

"But maybe next time he will be coming." James countered, flipping through his divination book, and reading the appropriate passage. "Long life or gain by commerce, plus a sign of danger. That doesn't combine at all, Pads."

"But maybe next time he wont." Sirius replied, holding the cup at arms length and tilting his head back. "Ok. It is a sheep and a carrot."

"What I'm saying, you pin brained mongrel, is that you should tell Moony that you swing both ways before you have any more encounters of the male kind." James huffed, throwing the pages of the book to the left with annoyance. "Sheep shows success, carrot... Oh. I don't have a definition of the tea meaning of carrot."

"But I don't waaant to tell Moony." Sirius moaned, lying dramatically along the table with a heavy sigh. "Carrot is phallic, you eat carrots. Therefore I believe that these tea leaves symbolise an internal desire for successful Fellatio."

"Well then don't have any more homosexual relations." James announced. Sighing in frustration, he looked at his friend once more.

"Where's the fun in that?" Sirius asked with a smile. Sitting back up, he sighed once again, crumpling his body so that his shoulders sagged. "I'll go and tell him now. Where is he?"

"Dorms." James stated, smiling lightly. "Its only 7.30, so neither me nor Wormtail will be up there for a while - you're free to take your time."

"Great." Sirius replied sarcastically, placing the teacup on the table and lumbering up to the shared dormitory. "If he turns out to be a massive homophobe, I will kill you Prongs, followed by Lily, followed by maybe Wormtail if I can find him."

"Mmkay, as long as I can have my wicked way with Lily first, I'm fine with that." James called after his friend, picking up the discarded teacup. Staring into it momentarily, he sighed dramatically and picked up his quill. _The tea leaves formed the shape of a carrot and a sheep. The carrot can be seen as a phallic representation..._

* * *

"Remus?" Sirius called as he entered the dormitory, looking towards the lycan bed. Indeed, Remus Lupin sat on the bed reading quite calmly. Sirius considered screaming or throwing some knives or attacking Remus in some way to make the boy look as un-calm as he felt.

"Sirius." Remus smiled, reaching for a bookmark to mark his place, putting the book softly on his bedside table. "How can I help you?" The lycanthrope asked, watching as the Black teen took refuge on the empty bed next to his own.

"Can we talk?" Sirius squeaked in a voice entirely unlike his own. He coughed slightly, before repeating himself in a much more masculine, manly voice.

"Of course." Remus smiled, swinging his legs off the bed so that they faced each other entirely across the gulf between the beds.

"Right. Well then, I guess I better start then. Straight to the point I suppose, keep this nice and direct." Sirius took a deep breath, unsure of how to phrase what he meant. _I'm gay. I'm a bit camp. I'm bisexual. I like kissing men. _"I'm sexually open."

"Tell me something I don't know." Remus smiled, raising an eyebrow at the vague explanation offered.

Sirius blanched, realising this wasn't going to be as simple as he had hoped. "No, no. Not sexually open like *that*...Well, ok, like that too. But I'm also sexually open in that I have no restrictions."

"Sirius, I really don't want to know what kinky things you've been getting up to in the bedroom, thank you." Remus stated, scrunching up his nose in an exaggerated gesture.

"NO! I didn't mean that I have no restrictions in the boudoir, although once again I suppose that is applicable... No, I have no restrictions when it comes to who, or what, is in my bed."

"My god, Sirius, are you trying to tell me you have sex with inanimate objects? Because you told me that was just a one time occuren-"

"What happened between me and that lampshade is never to be mentioned! And no, I don't do that crap anymore." Sirius took a deep breath in, attempting to compose himself. "Well, maybe occasionally, but that's irrelevant. What I'm trying to say is that I occasionally bat for the other team."

"Who, hufflepuff?" Remus replied, lips quirking up as he watched his flustered friend attempt to explain himself.

"No, no, I'm not talking about Quidditch, I'm speaking metaphorically. Come on, Moons, you read all those smart people books, surely you can understand a good metaphor!" Sirius exclaimed, sweaty palms running over his face.

"Well yes, but I'd prefer it if you just said whatever the hell it is you're trying to tell me about your well publicised sex life in plain terms." Remus stated, mouth still upturned slightly at the corners.

"Fine. Here it goes." Sirius breathed deeply, trying to release the nerves he felt tingling along his arms and legs. "I'm a bit bent. A partial fruit loop, if you will. I occasionally enjoy the old meat and two veg if presented adequately." Remus looked bemused at this declaration, so Sirius felt it important to compress the information into a more delectable bite. "I, Sirius Black, occasionally engage in romantic activities of the gay variety."

"I assume by 'gay', you mean homosexual as opposed to happy?" Remus asked lightly, drumming his fingers against his knee repetitively. Sirius gulped before bopping a single nod, breath held as he waited upon his friend's answer. Remus smiled beamingly, climbing out of his chair to kneel in front of his friend. Sirius felt hands rest lightly on his shoulders, but couldn't pull his eyes away from the beaming golden orbs in front of him. "There's no reason to look so bloody petrified, Pads. Its hardly a surprise that you're sexually ambivalent. I'm fine with it, honestly. Sides, I worked that out five minutes ago, its just fun to watch you squirm."

Sirius' eyes shone brightly as Remus finished his declaration of acceptance, reaching forward to ruffle the mop of ash in front of him. Scant seconds passed before Remus fell to the floor with a loud 'oomph', squashed for the seemingly thousandth time under the weight of his overexcited friend.

"No one makes me squirm and gets away with it!" Sirius laughed, trying to pin the lycan under him. "Don't think I haven't seen you eyeing my arse when no one's looking."

"In your dreams, Pads." Remus laughed, rolling the pair over to rest above Sirius for a moment. "You know my eyes are dedicated to the delectable arse of one James Potter." He smiled, before Sirius gained the momentum once more.

"Yes yes, we all know about you and James' bromance." Sirius laughed above the boy, pressing himself down upon the werewolf, ignoring the pang of excitement that shot up his spine at the contact. "Surely you're looking for more than that ugly horse by now though?" Sirius laughed, squeaking as Remus rolled the pair over once more, effectively pinning the animagus to the floor.

"You really shouldn't challenge a werewolf to a strength competition" Remus laughed, pinning Sirius' wrists above his head, as he had done a thousand times before.

"Am-are you- uncomfortable?" Sirius stuttered, heat rising as he realised the lycan was straddling him, arousing something that was entirely inappropriate. "I mean-well-I'm gay-" He wriggled lightly, only stilling as he watched his friend press lower, aligning their bodies entirely.

"Am I making you nervous?" Remus asked softly, eyebrow raising at his friend's unusual behaviour. "If you don't want me to be all touchy feely any mo-"

"No!" Sirius hissed immediately, attempting to control his breathing. "No. Canine intimacy, and all that. I just thought, maybe, because, you know. I am not entirely straight. Little bit bent. Slightly homosexual. I thought maybe-"

"Its fine. Really. Nothing has to change." Remus smiled, finally climbing off his friend's torso. Sirius climbed up immediately, thanking the God of all things right and pure that his pajama pants were very, very loose.

"Where you going?" Sirius asked casually, sauntering over to his bed at an impressive sauntering speed. He drew the curtains, sighing as he covered the tent in his trousers with a hand.

"Library, I'm tutoring some fourth years." Remus replied, staring at the drawn curtains around Sirius' bed with mild confusion. If his werewolf senses were right.... well. He decided that Sirius would not want him to know what exploits were happening inside the velvet curtains, and so decided it was time to bid farewell to his ... ahem... 'occupied'... friend. "Bye." He muttered, speeding out the door.

Sirius peeked his head out of the curtains carefully, ensuring that there was no one else in the general vicinity. Once satisfied with the emptiness of the dorm, he lay back tensely, eyeing his trousers in annoyance.

"Now. Listen. Captain Kirk. I know you're feeling terribly underused during this sexual dry spell, but that is no reason to go perving after poor Mr Moony. Mr Moony would, no doubt, be very terrified if he had known what you were making me think whilst he was straddling me in what was an entirely non-sexual manner. Yes, I know as well as you do that he is a very pretty boy. But there are lots of other pretty boys that have much less importance and much more 'fuckem and chuckem' potential. There will be no more of this getting excited about Remus, you hear me?" The tent in his pants remained tall, seemingly unrelenting despite Sirius' rant. Sirius sighed dejectedly, resting his hands on his hips. "I suppose you knew no better, so I shall forgive you and relieve you this time. Not again, mind. And no making me think about Remus when we do this! Or this sexual dry spell will turn into a sexual drought." He muttered, reaching forward to fulfil the needs of a teenage boy.

As he lay back into the sheets 20 minutes later, he huffed in frustration, glaring at his underwear with anger. "Bloody penis and its bloody Moony fetish."

* * *

**10/04/09 - Happy Easter! I've got another few chapters written, but I'm going to try and let them accumulate and just publish each chapter on fridays/saturdays - I'm not going to have time to write during May, so it will be useful to have a back catalogue that I can just upload as and when I have time :)**

** _'one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage — to reach the unreachable star.' _Is possibly the perfect quote for Remus and Sirius. I was watching the musical the other day, and was just like, wow.  
**

* * *

_17 reviewers - you're all amazing. All of you. I'm re-reading your reviews right now, and they make me ubersmileyface =)_

**to answer some questions that came out in the reviews;**

**TeddyBear 8P - When will there be more? _Every weekend I'll put up a new chapter. If I don't, feel free to yell at me!_**

_**VampiressBlack - Will James question Sirius on his suspicions? **__Oh, you'll just have to wait and seee ;)_

**Minerva Evenstar - I wonder how Remus feels?**_ahh, all shall be revealed shortly...mwahaha (cool username by the way =))_

**Moony's Daughter - When are they going to get together? _Soon, hopefully! There is puppy love in the next few chapters, fear not!_**

_On another note, I've just watched this show called 'Maury' (some of you probably know it, its a bit like Jerry Springer or Jeremy Kyle, that sort of thing) for the first time, and when I turned onto the channel, the first thing I heard was "I love whippy cream, it makes sex soo much better!". Best. Line. EVER._

* * *

I don't know why today's author's note is so long. I guess I'm just a tad bored. This chapter is dedicated to TeddyBear8P by the way, for being my most consistent reviewer! (honorable mentions go to VampiressBlack, Lady annikaa, emuroo and .girl. for joint second) and, aw hell, the rest of you too :) thank you for reading my (as of yet unfinished) story!

Song Of the day - Scar Tissue, Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Over and out.

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	9. Chapter 9

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** JFT96 JFT96 JFT96**

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"So, do you do this whole 'romancing' thing differently, now that you're not after the women anymore?" Remus asked quietly, bumping his shoulder against his friend as they leant against the base of quidditch bleachers, watching Ravenclaw slaughter Hufflepuff in what was less a match and more a massacre. 710-10, Sirius couldn't remember a more one sided Quidditch match in a long long time. The crowds in the stands appeared to have given up the ghost, with Ollie Stauton, resident commentator, giving up on describing the action a good ten minutes earlier. Unfortunately, a blow to the head of Madeline Small, ravenclaw seeker, meant the game could only be concluded when the Hufflepuff seeker found the snitch.

Unfortunately, Timothy Wallace, Hufflepuff seeker, was as blind as a bat and as competent in the air as a rabbit on acid, and the Hufflepuff captain was unwilling to concede. So the game continued, on and on. Naturally, James had opted to stay in the stands, eyes fixated on every moment and movement of play. However, seven hours in, two of the other three marauders lost patience, and left the stands to retreat to quieter ground.

"Nah, the strange thing is, romancing a man is not all that different." Sirius smiled, glancing around at the crowd above them languidly, glad that he had revealed his sexual preference the day before. "I think the sex will be a bit different, but getting them in the bed appears to be the same."

"You haven't had sex with any of them yet?" Remus stated, raising his eyebrow skeptically. "Good lord, I never thought I'd see the day when you abstained from sex with anyone."

"Keep it quiet, Moonikins, wouldn't want my reputation ruined now, would I?" Sirius smiled, drawing his friend into a half hug. "Besides, I've been serviced by women." _What, 6 months ago? _A synical voice in Sirius' brain goaded, making Sirius wince internally. _Shush, brain._

"Fair enough, I suppose." Remus smiled, running his hand through his hair relaxedly. Sirius watched with a twitch as the hair fell messily around his friend's face, framing his eyes quite effectively. "Its refreshing to not have to worry about walking in on something I really don't want to see in our dorms." Remus smiled, looking at his friend once more.

A look of abstract confusion flittered across Sirius' face as he struggled to comprehend the workings of his own mind, and the emotions flickering through his brain. _He knows you're not sleeping with anyone. He doesn't think you could get a girl, or man for that matter. You've let him down._ The confusion was soon replaced by a look of annoyance and almost anger at his friend. "Are you suggesting that I couldn't get someone to sleep with me?" He hissed, mood flying across the spectrum as he pushed himself off the side of the stand, moving away from the quidditch pitch angrily. Remus followed, more than used to his friend's violent mood changes.

"No, Sirius, far from i-" he started, placing a hand on his friend's arm in an attempt to calm him.. Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect, with the animagus tensing in frustration, spinning to face his friend, hands flying in the air exasperatedly, knocking Remus' hand away.

"No. You know what, fine. I will get a man, if it so pleases you Remus. And here I thought you'd be proud of me for not immediately going for something I wanted." Sirius huffed, hurt flickering across his face as he stared at his friend with indignation. The werewolf sighed, moving towards his friend once more and grabbing his arms tightly, unwilling to let him leave in such a state.

"Sirius, I'm proud of you regardless of what you do in your relationships!" Remus exclaimed, shaking Sirius lightly. "Please, you know I wouldn't say anything so callous. Even if I did, I'd only be joking. Its not like you need me to reassure you of your sexual prowess, I'm sure your countless lady friends do more than enough of that, don't they." Remus smiled, leaning down to try and catch his friend's eye, who immediately looked away. "Sirius?" The werewolf questioned, brow furrowing at the blush that was spreading across his friend's cheeks. "Is-what-"

"Just leave it Remus." Sirius huffed, crossing his arms in anger and staring at the ground determinedly. Remus dropped his arms resignedly, reaching up to tuck his friend's hair behind the aristocratic ear. "I'm out of here."

"Ok. You know where to find me if you need to talk." Remus smiled, receiving a scowl for his troubles.

"I don't need your help. I don't need any help. I'm fine. **fine." **Sirius stated, stalking away before spinning to face his friend once more. "And you know what, I'll always be fine. I don't need you. I just need me, and some fucking sex. And I'm going to go find some fucking sex, ok?"

"That's fine Sirius. Whatever you want to do." Remus stated calmly.

"Do you have to be so goddamn calm all the time!?" Sirius exclaimed, glaring at his friend's poetically calm demeanor with anger. "Just, for once, fucking let go, you complete fucking prude. Fucks sake, why the hell does everyone around here have a bloody wand up their arse?"

"Well Sirius, as a homosexual, there is a possibility that you may enjoy an individual's wand up your, ahem, 'arse'." Remus stated lightly, praying Sirius would at least smile as he walked up to his friend once more. "Now go and get laid before you end up saying something you regret." With a final glare, Sirius span on his heel, stalking up to the castle with fury, trying to forget the excitement running through him from that pseudo passionate encounter.

"Fucking Moony."

* * *

A strong thigh ran round him, dragging him in between the parted legs in front of him. Strong, thin, slightly calloused lips met equally strong pillows of skin around the other's neck, sparks flying as cloaks were ripped off.

Sirius leant into the neck, attempting to lose himself within the languid touches and roaming palms. Shrugging off his shirt, he leant into the tall being in front of him, pulling the corresponding article over his partner's shoulders.

"Wow." A voice stated as the pair pressed together, Sirius remaining silent throughout the encounter as the hands stroked and groped at him, grabbing his belt sensually.

Sirius' brow furrowed, suddenly all too aware of his own discomfort at the situation. Hands traced, stroked, lips kissed, caressed, but there was none of the old passion, none of the excitement that he had been searching for coursing through his veins. Another pull at his trousers and he backed away, away from the keening individual in front of him.

"Oh god, I'm-I'm sorry, I have to go." Sirius declared, throwing his shirt back on and grabbing his cloak, holding it in front of himself to hide what wasn't there.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" Pouting lips asked, strong flat chest still bare to Sirius' eyes as legs remained spread in front of the marauder. Reaching out, the waistband of Sirius' pants was held once more, a mouth reaching towards the trousers lustfully. "Do you want to-"

"No, I'm so sorry darling, I've just remembered I am meant to be meeting with McGonnagal in a few minutes, must be dashing. The woman is in love with me, you see, and needs her daily dose of Siri-goodness in order to keep ticking over. I'm so sorry we did not have the time to complete our tryst, but rest assured that we will meet again." Sirius smiled confidently, leaning in to place a tentative, rapid kiss on the corner of a mouth as he covered his disgust, pulling back immediately and running out of the closet, leaving passion in his wake.

* * *

"Bloody hell mate!" Peter exclaimed as Sirius walked into the otherwise empty dorm, tie loose and looking thoroughly disheveled. "Another one already? I know you're good, mate, but that must be 10 people, if not more, in the space of a week!" Peter calculated, looking up at his friend in awe. "Sleeping with 10 people, imagine that."

"You know, Pete, the life of a Sex God isn't all it's cracked up to be." Sirius sighed, throwing his tie to the floor and sitting cross legged on his bed, running fingers through his matted hair. "I've got another, shall we say, appointment in 30 minutes. It takes a lot of practice to get this good, you know." Sirius smirked sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he noticed Peter hanging on his every word. "Hows things going with that Hufflepuff girl you're 'courting'?" Sirius asked, trying to force some false interest into his speech.

"Not so well." Peter sighed, rolling onto his back. "I tried all the things you suggested, you know, treating her mean to keep her keen, but I don't think she appreciated me replacing her hairspray with Zonko's everstick glue." Peter frowned, looking across at his friend. "I don't think she had a sense of humour, I mean, everyone else was laughing when she leant down to pick up her bag and got stuck to the bench."

"Really? That's a shame, its always worked with my past girlfriends." Sirius grinned, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe you should try purple poxy paint instead - a little on their hands and they'll get the purple pox faster than you can say ABC. You could probably even charm it so that the pox marks spelt out your name on their skin, so that they never forgot you." Sirius stated, glancing at the clock on his bedside table." Oh, would you look at the time. I'm afraid its time I went to claim my next conquest, my fair Wormtail, I shall be off."

"Male or female?" Peter enquired, sitting up on his bed. "Please don't bring the fun times back here if its a bloke. No offense, I'm completely fine with you being, well, bisexual, but its one thing hearing about it, another thing entirely seeing it." Peter smiled, wrinkling his nose in mock disgust.

"It will be a bloke, and fair enough." Sirius stated, deciding that he wouldn't want to see Peter going at it with anyone, male or female, not that there was much chance of either after the advice that Sirius had doled out minutes before.

A sudden, rare guilty spell passed over Sirius as he remembered a conversation with Moony a month previously, after a joke at the rotund boy's expense. _Come on, Sirius, stop teasing poor Peter. You know he idolises you, its not his fault that he's occasionally a bit slow to catch on to your jokes. And lord knows he needs as much help in the dating department as possible. Promise me you wont tease him for a bit, please? Thank you, Pads, I knew you'd come through for me. _

"Oh, and Wormtail, you might want to try flowers for a girl next time. Maybe chocolates. No more superglue, eh? Doesn't go down too well when they get stuck to tables. And save the pox stuff for true love, there'd be no point wasting such a classic method of romance on some Hogwarts fling." Sirius stated, grabbing a chocolate frog from the end of Remus' bed on his way out, throwing it in the air relaxedly as he strolled out of the warm dormitory.

"Thanks Sirius!" Peter cried at the back of his friend, sighing appreciatively at his tall companion as he left. He really did have great friends.

* * *

"Ooh, baby." A voice moaned wantonly, hand clasping at the tight shirt stretched across Sirius' chest. "That feels good, do it again! Again!"

Sirius closed his eyes patiently, trying to prevent a sarcastic response flicking out of his mouth at the God-awful screeching tones of the person in front of him. Blanking out the unappealing squeals, he persisted, hands sliding up the admittedly fantastic body in front of him.

Working impatiently, Sirius glared at the body with frustration, begging himself to feel something, _anything, _as he stroked and manipulated the toned body in front of him. He felt strong hands return the favour, but couldn't help but click his tongue as he realised that nothing was happening. Pulling away with annoyance, Sirius registered the look of confusion on his partner's face briefly, ice blue eyes reflecting the annoyance on his own face. "I'm going." Sirius muttered, pulling his trousers back up.

"You aren't interested. Why don't you want to fuck me? Can you not perform?" The voice whined, glaring at Sirius with frustration. Sirius blushed red, anger eventually overtaking his embarrassment as he dragged his shirt back across his shoulders, buttoning it up rapidly.

"This isn't my fault! I've never had this problem before, ever! It must be you, you're not doing it right." Sirius exclaimed, reaching over to pull his shoes back on as fast as his fingers could manage. "This isn't about my inadequacies, this is all your fault."

"I think you'll find I'm the one here who is prepared for some action!" The voice remarked, motioning downwards. "And still waiting, I'll have you know. Surely even if you're not up for it you can service me?"

Sirius scoffed lightly, rolling his eyes at the naked body in front of him as he threw his robe across his shoulder. "Well tough shit, you're going to have to serve yourself tonight because it appears I am not interested." Sirius stated. "If anyone finds out about this, I will out you. And tell the masses about your inability to excite the stick of walking testosterone that is Sirius Black. It is in your best interests to keep this secret."

* * *

"I'm sorry I yelled." A strong voice stated above Remus, startling the boy as he sat reading in the library. The amber-eyed boy glanced up, gold meeting silver as the two pairs of eyes stared for a moment.

"Its fine Pads." Remus smiled, kicking out a chair for his canine friend, as he placed a piece of paper in the novel and focussed his attention on the boy in front of him. "I'm more than used to your occasional mood swings." He smirked, watching as his friend swung casually into the offered chair. "THat wou

"No, I mean it. I didn't mea-" Sirius started, looking over apologetically at his lycan friend as he reached over the table to place a hand on the other boy's arm.

"You don't have to apologise to me, Padfoot. I get it, you were angry. I've known you long enough to know that angry Padfoots yell, and say lots of things that they don't necessarily mean." Remus reasoned, smiling sadly as his friend sat opposite him and clasping the hand that rested on his arm. "Its fine, no damage done."

"I always need your help, by the way. That was a complete lie." Sirius stated, smiling across the table at his lycan friend. "And I like how you are calm. I think if you had an explosiveness like me, someone may have died in that fight." Remus laughed, eyes gleaming as the pair sat smiling at one another for a minute or two. Sirius broke the contact, looking down at his bare wrist and cursing quietly.

"What time is it?" He asked, looking over at his bookish friend. Remus looked down at his own wrist, equipped with a watch, and squinted to read the time.

"7.45" Sirius winced, realising he was meant to be meeting someone in a few minutes. "Let me guess, you've got some sexual escapade lined up in the next ten minutes. Get to it then!" Remus laughed, pushing his friend's shoulder lightly. "Shouldn't keep them waiting."

"But I want to stay-" Sirius started, silenced by his friend's raised hand. "-with you." He finished quietly, shoulders sagging slightly.

"No no, Sirius. I am fine here, with my boring books. You don't need to feel all sorry for me, I'l be fine here. Now shoo, and you can tell me all the gritty nasty details later when you get back, ok? And I'll pretend to be interested, as usual, and then we can go to sleep and repeat this whole lovely process tomorrow." Remus declared, picking up a novel and flipping through briefly.

"Bye Moony." Sirius whispered sadly, realising his presence probably wasn't welcome. "I'll see you tonight, yeah?" He asked, head tilting as he stood to leave.

"Yes, feel free to wake me up if you come back after I've gone to bed." Remus smiled, not looking up from his book. "Bye Pads."

* * *

"Lets get this started then, darling." The voice at the door stated, as Sirius turned to face his partner. "Shall we start the usual, eh?" Lips muttered lightly, swelled chest pressing against the front of the Gryffindor.

"Of course, darling." Sirius replied, hands stroking the pale soft body in front of him. Clothes were shed quickly, and a cool eyebrow was raised at the lack of enthusiasm shown by the marauder. "I need a bit of time to...warm up a bit." Sirius muttered, stroking the cheek in front of him.

"No problem, love." Lips mouthed, lean body sliding down Sirius to reach the sensual area. Sirius moaned hopefully, watching as small hands played and stroked, lips slid and sucked, teeth scraped and ran.

Eventually, a sigh escaped tired lips and his partner broke contact, leaning back as Sirius blushed lightly, staring at the ceiling in frustration. His partner stood, standing close to Sirius and stroking his face lightly.

"Maybe you just need some time, darling. You might be tired, or have not eaten enough iron, or overworked the poor thing. Come back to me in a week, yes?" Lips muttered into his ear, as hands ran through his thick hair comfortingly.

"I will, sweetness." Sirius muttered, placing a chaste kiss on the lips in front of him. Slipping back into his clothes tersely, he walked out, breaking into a run as he headed for his dorms, confused contradictions racing through his mind.

* * *

"James. James. Potter. Prongs. M'Prongster. Prongsie Prong Prong. James." _Oh for Gods sake why the hell wont you shut the fu-_

"Buggeroff" James moaned, attempting to roll over only to be stopped by something. Or rather someone. "Whaddayadoin? Why're ya straddling meee" James groaned, hitting the heavy lump with a limp fist, as he squinted into the blurry darkness to spot a large form glaring over him.

"James. Its me, Paddy. Can we talk?" James heard his friend mutter as he threw on his glasses and glanced at the clock. _3.15. Great. Fan flipping tastic. So much for bloody sleep._

"Well. I'm bloody awake now, so we might as well." James huffed, examining the muscular teen above him. _Well. There's about a million men, women and sea-frogs that would love to be where I am right now. _James thought with a smile, before realising that he was definitely not a member of that million, and that having his friend straddle him like this was highly disturbing. James examined his friend once more, noting the mild panicked look that radiated in his eyes. "What's up? And why are you talking to me about it, Moons is normally your go-to guy on the important Hey-I'm-Sirius-and-I-need-to-talk-now-regardless-of-the-inhumane-hour-of-the-morning parts of your life." James asked, glaring at his friend. "And this is, by the way, a very inhumane hour. Surely you could have just waited till the bloody morning."

"I would have gone to Rem, but I can't. Not about this." Despite the quip on the end of James' tongue, he held it in due to the embarrassment on his best friend's face, flushed from whatever ails were held within him. "Its... its a problem I don't want him to know about. Anyone to know about, actually. But I need to tell someone now, its killing me."

"Ok then. Spill." James stated, eyebrows raised in anticipation for the 'big secret' of the hour.

"Well... I was with a guy last week..." Sirius whispered, sending a cursory glance over at Remus to ensure the naive teen was still asleep. James rolled his eyes, unsurprised at his friend's latest sexual exploits. "He was handsome, and funny, and tall, and had pretty much everything going for him. He invited me back to his dorm, and -"

"Please to God, Sirius, spare me the gruesome details!" James exclaimed quietly, his hands covering his ears playfully, only to return to his sides at Sirius' unamused face. If that didn't make Sirius smile, James knew this was serious. He dropped his hands back to his sides, patting Sirius' leg lightly. "Go on." James egged, as Sirius took a deep breath to compose himself.

"I couldn't pitch a tent." At James' confused look, Sirius tried again. "I couldn't raise the flag. I couldn't awaken the snake."

"You what? Speak in english, Sirius." James stated, noting the furious blush that was now spreading across his friend's cheeks. "Sirius? What's wrong. I can't help you if I don't-"

"I couldn't get it up." Sirius stated, avoiding the face of his best friend, whose voice rapidly died in his throat with a soft 'oh'. "Its the first time its ever happened to me. I don't know what was wrong, It just wasn't there. I-We tried everything. Everything. And it just wouldn't... Well..."

"Ok. I get you. You can stop." James stated, pushing Sirius off his lap so that he could sit upright. Dragging a hand through his disheveled hair, the be-speckled boy looked at his friend once more, noting the frustrated frown that marred his friend's features. "Maybe you're not gay then." James tried, hoping to ease his friend's worries. "Why don't you try getting with a few women, see if that makes any difference to Little Sirius."

"Well." Sirius sighed, looking even more lost. "I may have already tried that. Lots. When he couldn't get me - you know, going - I figured I'd see if gender made any difference. I've been to all my old favourites - Esmerelda, Penelope, Yollanda, and nothing. Thought then that maybe Big Sirius was after something different, so went into town and met up with some lovely young ladies that I've never tried before. Not even a quiver. I've had to run off with some lame ass excuses from all of them." Sirius muffled, wrapping his gangly arms around his legs briefly. James sat opposite his friend, lost for what to say. "I think the ol' Casanova of Hogwarts may have to go temporarily celibate." Sirius whispered, a smile finally gracing his features. "Lord knows how Hogwarts will progress without my sexual talents." He mumbled softly.

"Just give yourself a bit of time, mate. You don't have to get with someone within a nanosecond. Maybe Little Sirius wants to know the person he's, well, entering, before he knocks. If he is doing the knocking, of course. I don't want to know if he is the one knocking though. Though now that I ment-"

"I don't even know myself yet James, I haven't got that far with a man, so we can assume for now that I will be doing the, ahem, knocking." Sirius answered, cheeks flushing a furious shade of red. "This has never been a problem before. I don't see why Gargantuan Sirius has to, well, get acquainted, with my latest fuckbuddy now. Its never been a bloody problem before. He was happy with whatever was presented to him, as long as it wasn't completely horrific.

"Maybe he wants more than sex. Or maybe Miniscule Sirius knows exactly who he wants to have sex with, and isn't going to comply until you give into his demands." James suggested, wrinkling his nose as he contemplated.

"Colossal Sirius has not been so kind as to tell me if there is anyone who he wants to have sex with, unfortunately." Sirius announced, looking downwards at his trousers. "Come on, big man, give me a sign at least?"

"Well then, I guess you'll just have to get by for a bit until you get your mojo back." James whispered, leaning back onto his bed. "Now if you excuse me, I'd like to get some shut eye, so night night Padfoot, I hope you work this crap out soon, for your own sake."

"Night Prongs, you bloody unhelpful git." Sirius muttered, clobbering his friend round the head as he left the cramped four poster. However, as opposed to going to his own bed, the dark adult walked over to Remus' layer, peeking his head through the curtains and whispering 'Rem' lightly.

James watched from his own bed as the werewolf let the pureblood into his bed without a second thought, moving over slightly to accommodate the tanned teen. James watched as they talked in hushed tones, their canine and lupine senses allowing the conversation to be dimmer than James could hear. James watched as they finally said goodnight to one another, Sirius laying his head as close to Remus' as possible, eyes tracing the werewolf's face until eyelids drooped and sleep finally overtook the canine.

And he couldn't help but wonder. What If.

* * *

**Shameless Self Promotion - Black Boxers & Quidditch pitches. Yummy RLSB smut. R&R pleasee =]**

**Song of the week - Killing Moon, Echo And The Bunnymen**

**Question Of The Week - Why don't they have to learn chemistry at Hogwarts? Do chemical processes work the same way according to the magical world - ie, do they still believe in the presence of electrons, protons, nucleophilic substitution, or is all this explained by some sort of magical process instead? (Yes, I know I'm a sad act for thinking about this, but I was revising chemistry whilst looking at a copy of HP...)**

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10! Bloody hell. I can't believe we're here already! :)**

* * *

"Moony!" Sirius laughed, throwing himself at the sofa where his friend was situated, perching precariously on the arm and draping himself over his friend's side. "I have found you!" The dog declared, smiling at the boy below him, who appeared utterly unaffected by the fact that the higher boy was covered in multicoloured flecks.

"It does appear you have, Pads." Remus smiled, eyes glinting as he leant against the boy momentarily. "Was there a reason that I needed to be found? I did not realise that I was lost."

"You must have been lost, Moony. All civilians, great or small, are lost in a void of nothingness when they are not subject to my magnificence. Surely you, oh smart one, would have realised that by now."

"How could I forget." Remus smiled, shifting along the sofa slightly to allow Sirius to slide in alongside him. "What have you been up to today?" The werewolf asked, leaning back against the sofa to view his friend thoroughly. "Is there a reason you're covered in what I'm assuming is some sort of sherbet?"

"Well you see, fair moonikins, what happened was simple. I was on a stroll through the forbidden forest with a lizard dressed as satan, when Snivelly jumped out from behind a tree, which was, with hindsight, precariously balanced. Dressed in attire usually found on some sort of drug dealer, he opened his coat to reveal a large selection of pocket watches, which he began throwing at me. Due to my natural speed and grace, I escaped uninjured, though it upsets me to reveal that my coconut filled with rum punch was knocked flat out of my hands, and its juicy contents splayed horrifically across the forest floor. How I mourned for that cocktail!

"Anyway, back to point. Once I was positive Snivelly had left, I returned to the precarious tree to check on the wellbeing of my reptilian friend. Unfortunately, he had been caught in the crossfire, and a small leopard print clock was embedded in his skull. After much strife and an awkward conversation with Mrs Satan, a gypsy high on citric acid assisted in burying the evidence of the harsh murder. My trusting nature told me that we would be fine in the company of such a person, however my judgement was unfounded, as she quickly grabbed me, hiding me in her shiny PVC purse and taking me to Timbuktu.

"Whilst in Timbuktu I formed an unlikely alliance with a sea turtle, who said that for a string of hair and a shiny penny he would introduce me to a chicken that owned a magic flying carpet. Although I did not possess a shiny penny, I was able to raise such funds after two hours of busking Led Zep songs, and was rapidly acquainted with the chicken, who immediately declared that he had heard me performing Led Zep, and was disgusted my cheap imitation of their brilliance. Nonetheless, he agreed to take me on his magic carpet, so long as I would treat him to a night out in hogsemade.

"Never one to miss a drinking opportunity, I agreed to take him into the city, and so we flew on the magic carpet into the Three Broomsticks. However, I was unaware of the 'no poultry' rule which is strictly enforced. Once we had been removed from the premises, I had an angry bird on my hands - not the first time, let me tell you! - and so to abate him, I broke into Honeydukes, unaware of the burglar-preventing sherbet sprinkler system. Covered in sherbet, I sprinted back to the castle, unaware that behind me the poor poultry was being castigated for my heinous crime.

"And that, my dear Moony, is how I found myself covered in sherbet." Sirius finished, smiling at his friend's relatively unamused face.

"So, in other words, Lily hexed you." Remus surmised, allowing a hint of a smile to grace his lips.

"Why, however did you guess?" Sirius laughed, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders, trying to ignore how the muscles underneath had tensed at the contact.

"Well, you do not like sherbet. If something appears on you which can be deemed unpleasant, then it can usually be assumed Snape or Lily has something to do with it, and since i doubt that Snape would see covering you with sherbet as an apt punishment for whatever it is you did wrong, I shall assume that it is Lily who has tarnished your hair with these multicoloured flecks." Remus stated, looking feverishly at his own hand, gripping the edge of the sofa tightly.

"Impressive deduction, I must say. Though I rather preferred my explanation, as it involved a gypsy high on citric acid and a lizard dressed as satan, two stock characters that your explanation is lacking in." Sirius smiled, tugging his resistant friend closer.

"I do worry about your mental state sometimes." Remus muttered, allowing Sirius to lean against him for a moment.

"So do I, but if I was normal you wouldn't love me so much." Sirius teased, flicking the werewolf's nose softly.

"True true." Remus smiled, dusting the flecks out of his friend's hair. "I assume that you've began planning revenge already?"

"But of course. I've yet to work out the specifics, but it involves a magic fireless candle, two rolls of ductape, a potted plant and this fantastic muggle thing called 'play doh'." Sirius smiled, laughing at the look of confusion on his friend's face, and sighing dramatically. "I'm terribly bored, Moonster."

"Oh no, whatever shall I do with a bored Padfoot?" Remus laughed, leaning back on the sofa to face his friend.

"How about we play the 'LFMAWTF' game!" Sirius declared excitedly, rocking up and down on the sofa with excitement.

"Why do I have a horrible feeling I wont like this game?" Remus muttered in response. Sirius laughed, reaching over to ruffle his friend's hair as it fell softly over his face.

"Oh trust me moonshine, you will. Or at least, you'll like the consequences, trust me." He hummed, smiling encouragingly at his slightly worried friend.

"Can you at least tell me what the abbreviation stands for? And perhaps explain the rules, that would be rather helpful." Remus smiled nervously, watching his overexcited friend with anticipation.

"It stands for 'lets find moony a woman to fu-"

"Sirius!" Remus laughed, placing his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Lets not play that game, shall we? As fun as you may think it, it would involve the humiliation of one of your fellow marauders."

"You don't have to play, as it only requires finding a girl, so only one participant is required in the principle stages of the game, and that's me. So, Moonikins, what do you like in a girl? And it is in your best interests to not say 'nothing', or I'll be telling Matilda Bullstrode that you're manically in love with her."

"Fine. Find someone who's small, quiet, and not intrusive." Remus sighed, a smile playing on his lips. Sirius paid him no mind, continuing to gaze around the common room, analysing its occupants critically.

"They sound boring. I'm sure you'd prefer tall, dark and interesting, yes?" He replied offhandedly, shooting an excited grin at his friend. "They're much more fun."

"Fine. Whoever." Remus muttered, hints of red highlighting his cheeks. "I really don't want to have this conversation right now Pads. Osmund is pretty much in control, and I'm tired, and -"

"Who the bloody Nora is Osmund?"

"Oh, sorry, Lord, did I say that out loud?" Remus muttered in response, cheeks glowing. "Osmund is... well, the wolf. Please don't laugh, I know I shouldn't have named it-" Remus started, before realising that he'd already said to much and his companion was laughing so hard that tears were flowing rapidly out of the corners of his eyes.

"Osmund!" Sirius laughed, calming for a second before catching sight of Remus and bursting into peels of laughter once more. "Os-Os-Os..." He tried, snorting slightly as laughter continued to ring out through the common room.

Remus sighed exasperatedly, lips twitching upwards momentarily as he registered the smile on his friend's face. "Yes yes, laugh it out. Ha ha ha, very funny."

"Os..." Sirius started, laughing once more, eyes closing in mirth. However, the laughter subsided immediately as he opened his eyes to spot a girl stood in front of Moony.

"Hi Remus!" The girl smiled, as Sirius struggled to retrieve her name. "You've been so helpful to me with my herbology recently-"

"I know, isn't he a doll?" Sirius interrupted, leaning across to drape a possessive arm over his friend.

"-erm, yes. Well, I thought that maybe, to repay you, I could buy you a drink in the Three Broomsticks?" The girl asked, hair framing her face in an annoyingly pretty manner.

"Why that would be wonderful, I'm sure we'd enjoy that!" Sirius responded, tapping his highly embarrassed friend on the knee lightly. "Wouldn't that be lovely, hmm, Remmie? This lovely lady is going to bring some drinks over to our table on Saturday."

"Sirius-" Remus started exasperatedly, throwing an apologetic look towards the girl, who seemed as determined as ever.

"I actually meant as a sort of date. Just the two of us." She smiled at Remus, turning her shoulders to fully face the werewolf.

"Me and you, darling? Well, I'm flattered, but you're not really my type -" Sirius started, smiling at her once more.

"You have a type? I thought it just had to be a girl with a pulse." The girl quipped lightly, turning to face Remus. "I actually meant just me and you, Remus. I really like you, and would love the opportunity to speak to you without unwelcome interruptions."

"Oh, I see how this is!" Sirius exclaimed, glaring daggers at the brave girl. "Well I'm afraid he is not free this saturday, as he's going to Hogsmead with me." Sirius stated, draping himself onto Remus' lap. "Sorry, darling."

"I'm really sorry Cassandra, I really have to escort Sirius here into town this saturday. He can't be trusted out alone. Maybe some other time." Remus smiled kindly, placing a hand on her arm softly. "See you next week."

"Bye Remus." She called with a smile, glaring daggers at Sirius.

"Thank Heavens for that, I thought we'd never get rid of her!" Sirius bounced, returning to a sitting position. "Man, she was annoying. Some women, eh?"

"I thought you were telling me a moment ago that I should get a woman?" Remus quipped, raising an eyebrow at the mystery that was Sirius Black.

"Not one like that!" Sirius exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air dramatically.

"What's wrong with Cassandra? She fulfils all your earlier requirements! Dark, tall, interesting..."

"Yes, well, she is not what I want in a Moony partner. Have no fear, I shall find you one eventually. And anyway, you're going to Hogsemade with me this weekend - after all, James and Peter both have detentions, and there's no way in hell I'm going alone.

"Ok, I'm sure I can manage that." Remus smiled, looking at the clock on the wall speculatively. "Four hours until the moon rises." He whispered somberly, standing painfully. "What say we go down to the kitchens before I have to head over to the shack?"

"I say, my moonikins, that is the best suggestion you've made all day!" Sirius laughed, attaching himself to his friend's arm and swinging them down the corridor.

* * *

"My darling Lilyflower!" James yelled across the common room as he entered, draping himself over the occupied sofa as his compatriot Peter stood awkwardly alongside the furniture. "What a pleasant day to see you on, my precious petal. The sunlight really brings out the colour of your e-"

"Did you want something, Potter?" Lily interrupted rapidly, lips pursed in annoyance. "Because if not, I would appreciate it if you could bugger off. We're busy."

James raised an eyebrow at the usually hardworking Lily, eyeing up the copy of 'Witch Weekly' lying in front of her. "But of course, my darling. I always want something, but am far too much of a gentleman to just take it." Recognising that Lily's eyes were narrowing in a rather threatening manner, James looked around desperately, finally spotting the other two marauders entering the common room through the portrait. "Pads! Moony, my darlings! Fancy seeing you here."

"Alright, Prongsie boy? I see you're with the Missus, who is, judging by the fawning look on her face, going to break her vow of prongsie celibacy within the hour. Keep going lad, me and Moonster are going upstairs to fornicate." Sirius called casually, draping himself over Remus dramatically.

"Am I not invited today?" James laughed in reply, pulling a saddened face. The pair laughed for a moment, before resuming their journey upstairs.

Suddenly, Peter stood up too, heading for the staircase with intent. "Where are you going, mate?" James asked rapidly, grasping his friend's arm as he walked past.

"I was going to go up to the dorms - I need to get my transfiguration book so I can start that essay McGonnagal set us." Peter stated, regarding James with mild confusion. "Why is that important?"

"Oh, Nothing. I just think the puppies could use with a bit of free time." James smiled, grabbing his own transfiguration book out of his bag. "Here, mate, you can borrow mine, lord knows I wont be starting that essay for another three or four days yet!"

"Why do Sirius and Remus need time alone together?" Lily asked, intrigued by the turn the conversation had taken. "Have they had a fight or something?"

"No, no. Sirius and Remus never fight, don't be silly." James answered, sitting up marginally straighter and removing his arm from the back of the suite.

"What about that time in fifth year, where they went three month-"

"We don't mention that, Lily. It was a very dark time which we do not speak of and do not acknowledge. It may as well have not had happened, for all intents and purposes. Sirius would never be that stupid again, either. Or not without suffering a long and painful death at my hands, at least." James muttered darkly, forcing Lily to strain to hear him. Peter glanced across the table worriedly, hoping the annoyed look on his friend's face would pass quickly.

"Right. Ok. So why do they need time alone?" Lily pressed, touching James' arm lightly.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Evans." James stated, moving away from Lily rapidly. "They just do, ok?" James stated, grabbing his bag and jumping up swiftly. "Oi, Davies? Mind if I come and sit with you?"

"He-he ditched me!" Lily muttered under her breath, blushing furiously. Peter looked up briefly, wishing he had Sirius' confidence and could have turned a phrase at that moment. But alas, by the time the poor rat had thought of an adequate reply, the moment had passed, and Lily was talking once again with the popular girls.

Sometimes, Peter really wished he wasn't one sandwich short of a picnic.

* * *

"Why Moonikins, dragging me up to an abandoned dorm, how romantic!" Sirius swooned, collapsing onto the nearest bed dramatically. "Take me, you fool!"

"Well, how can I resist an offer like that?" Remus quipped calmly, placing his bag on his bed softly. Digging around for a moment, he unveiled two bars of honeyduke's finest. "Want one?"

"I'm never one to refuse free chocolate." Sirius grinned, catching the thrown chocolate bar with an ease that would be expected from a Quidditch player. "And lord knows you get the good stuff, too. No chocolate frogs for my moonster, eh?"

"No no, only honeyduke's finest." Remus smiled, digging ever deeper in his bag in search for a small box, finally grasping it with thin fingers, avoiding the daggers Sirius was sending him as he pulled a cigarette out of the slim packet.

"Don't look at me like that. The wolf likes it, Pads" Sirius pushed down the mental image of a bohemian werewolf called Osmund sat in a cafe somewhere with a cigarette, and instead turned to focus on his friend. "Its non-conformist. It is against the rules. It is dangerous and daring and about taking what you want regardless of the consequences. Yes, the wolf loves it." Remus finished, lighting the cigarette with a nonverbal and moving over to the open window, leaning out to gasp at the fresh air outside. Sirius watched quietly for a moment, tracing the whisps of smoke that trailed out of Moony's mouth, before walking to the window to join his friend.

"That's a terrible habit, moons. I bet you taste like a bloody ash tray" Sirius stated lightly, teasing the cigarette out of his friend's hand and putting it out on the side. "As much as a cigarette might make me look more rebellious, no one wants to snog a pile of ash." He stated, wrinkling his nose as he climbed onto the windowsill, curling up opposite his friend. "Not to mention, the wolf also loves killing people and licking its own arse, but I don't see you engaging in any such behaviour when the moon is not full now, do I?"

"Its not like I've got anyone who's going to complain about how I taste, do I?" Remus stated, surprising Sirius with the slight bitter glint to his offhand statement. Taking one final breath, the werewolf leaned out the window, dragging it closed with a resounding 'click', standing up as he began eating his chocolate bar.

They ate in silence, while Sirius slowly pulled himself to a standing position and repositioning himself on his bed, devouring his own bar in a matter of seconds. Remus looked up to tell him off for eating so quickly - no doubt he'd end up with indigestion eating at that speed - but was immediately distracted.

"Pads. You've got some... chocolate. Corner of your lips." The wolf coughed, staring at Sirius' lips intensely. Sirius smiled, licking his lips dramatically, making sure they were fully clean before he climbed off his bed and headed for the standing boy.

"I'm such a dirty boy." Sirius laughed, stepping as close to the boy as possible without actually touching him. Leaning up, he whispered softly in his companion's ear "Do I need punishing?" in a voice usually reserved for lovers or potential partners.

Suddenly, before Sirius' small brain could contemplate what was happening, he was pressed against the wall, the werewolf matching his stride and effectively trapping the pureblood, chocolate abandoned on the floor.

"Don't tempt me, Sirius. Not today." Remus muttered, pressing Sirius harder into the wall, as his nails dug rivulets into his palms, placed softly in fists on his friend's chest. "27 days out of the month. 27 days. I can deal with it. I can resist. But not today... Sirius, the wolf, the wolf wants-"

"What. What does the wolf want." Sirius whispered hoarsely as he tried to comprehend what was happening, relaxing the muscles in his body as he watched Remus with curiosity. The werewolf placed his forehead on that of the animagus complacently, and closed his eyes with a resigned huff. However, before Sirius had a chance to ask what was wrong, his lips were silenced by those of another.

Electric shocks ran through every muscle in Sirius' body as he felt the energy pulsing through him, originating from his lips. Too surprised to act, he simply stared at the closed eyes in front of him for a moment, before relaxing into the kiss, letting his eyes close naturally as he began to register the feelings running through his body.

It was as if someone had opened a door in front of Sirius, shown him the light, the pot of gold that was right in front of his nose. He felt Remus' hands rise to cup his face, as his own clutched desperately at the werewolf's waist, now all too aware of the few inches between their bodies.

It explained everything. Sirius suddenly realised why he wanted to see, hug, touch, _feel _ Remus all the time. Why the werewolf was different. Why Moony was different than James, or Peter, or any of the countless girls that he'd been with.

Then, as soon as it had begun, it was over. Remus ripped his lips from those of Sirius, restraining the canine softly as he whimpered and tried to regain the contact. "I'm going down to the shack. Don't follow. I don't want you down there tonight. I can't have you down there tonight. I'll see you in the morning, Pads." Eyes closed, the werewolf rested his forehead on that of the canine for a moment, before spinning on his heel and all but running to the door.

"Moony..." Sirius whispered, sliding down the wall contemplatively as the memory of Remus burned across his lips. He kicked himself internally, at not realising that there was...something... between himself and Remus at an earlier, more convenient date. Preferably on a day when it wasn't the full moon, and he had a chance to spruce up a bit. Maybe get a good Bowie track playing, or something. Sirius didn't want to just kiss Remus. He wanted to romance him, make him feel as Sirius felt.

"Hey, what's going on with Remus? He just steamed through the common room at a speed that would have made roadrunner sweat! Do you have any-" Peter stopped short, noticing Sirius' odd resting place on the floor. "What're you doing down there?" Peter asked, staring down at the crumpled teen. When the teen stayed silent, not seeming to register that Peter was talking to him, the mousy teen huffed angrily. "Has someone put something in the pumpkin juice? Seriously, why on earth are you all acting like you've lost your minds?" When there was still no answer, Peter glanced at Sirius once more, noticing the dazed look on his friend's face. "I'm going to go and get James." He stated, more for his own benefit than that of Sirius.

Peter was more than glad that James was in the common room, shortening the distance he needed to travel for help. James swanned in quickly, stopping in front of his canine friend. He crouched down in front of Sirius, trying to get some eye contact. "Sirius. Sirius. What's going on?" James reached out to touch his friend's shoulder, relieved to finally get some sort of reaction from Padfoot.

"He kissed me." Sirius smiled idiotically, a lunatic grin breaking out across his face. "He. Kissed. Me." Sirius laughed, before the smirk was wiped off his face in a millisecond. "Where is he?" Sirius frowned, glancing over James' shoulder to see where his partner had gone.

James frowned momentarily, wondering who Sirius was talking about. However, when he realised that Padfoot was glancing towards the bed of their wolfie friend, a grin broke out upon his face. "Oh. Ohhhh."

"What? Who's Sirius been kissing? Who are we looking for?" James rolled his eyes at his naive friend, throwing him the 'I'll tell you later' glance. James smiled at Sirius, spinning to sit next to his best and oldest friend.

"Pete? Can you do us a massive favour and get everything sorted for tonight? I'm going to try and make sure that this one is 'sane', in the loosest sense of the word, so that he can come out with us tonight." James smiled, glad when Wormtail didn't put up a fight and left the pair alone. "So. Remus bloody Lupin."

"Remus bloody Lupin." Sirius smiled, leaning his head against the wall. "I don't know what happened, we were just flirting like we usually do... Then suddenly I got a bit close, and, well..." James watched as Sirius did a strange thing with his hands, that he supposed was meant to resemble kissing. In reality, it more closely resembled an elephant harassing a penguin. "It was raw, and messy, and imperfect, but at the same time completely 100% perfect. It was what I've been expecting every other kiss to feel like, and then some. I feel light headed, I feel like I want to run out there and grab him and never let him go."

"That's deep." James muttered, twiddling his thumbs nervously. James loved Sirius like a brother, but this was the sort of thing that they did not talk about, especially since Sirius had come out of the closet (before walking back in, but James had now taken the liberty of assuming that Sirius was, once again, gay, or bisexual, or pansexual, or whatever crazy term the boy was using that day). He glanced at his watch, before calling to Pete to check he had everything. "Well, this has been a pleasant, if not entirely unexpected, revelation. However, we do not have time to bask in the fact that I, James Potter, had figured out that there was some Moony-Paddy loving going on way before either of you did, as It's 5.30 Pads, and we need to get going." James jumped up, spinning to face his best friend, still sat on the floor slightly dazed. "Well? Are you coming?"

"Remus told me that I shouldn't go down to the shack tonight." Sirius stated mindlessly, before a smile broke out across his face, and he bounced to a standing position. "Lets go!" He laughed, bouncing towards the door. "I want to see what the wolfie will do to me!" The pureblood laughed, thumping his friend's arm. "And what do you mean 'you figured it out'? If you knew about the canine love-in, you could have at least informed me, the lover, about it!"

"But there is no fun in just telling you the answer. Its much more fun to watch you flounder on your own." James laughed merrily, returning the thump with a lighthearted thwack. "And don't expect me to watch if the wolf starts making the moves at you." James replied, moving towards the door behind his friend. "Bestiality really doesn't do it for me."

"Bugger off Potter!" Sirius laughed, as the three headed for the shrieking shack.

* * *

**Wolfie was named using a random name generator. Rather hilariously, I had to do the thing 4 times to get a good name, as the first three that came up were Silvester, Remus and Ernesto! The Remus one made me laugh - bloody random name generator's too smart for its own good...**

**Song Of The Week - Black Dog, Led Zeppelin**


	11. Chapter 11

Sirius raised himself to a standing position quietly, hissing as his bones creaked tiredly. Although the wolf had not decided to jump him in a Remus like manner (a fact that made Sirius feel both grateful and disappointed) the animal had certainly been more...Feral. More aggressive, more frustrated.

_Sexual frustration. _Sirius smiled inwardly, glancing over at the boy lying across the room. _Well, given current events, I am more than an expert in that field. _Looking at the boy once more, Sirius realised that he needed more than the ten minutes he had spared last night to think about what had happened, and try to make sense of why the bloody Nora his best friend had kissed him, and why he had liked it so much. Sighing in contemplation, Sirius crept slowly across the room, heading for the door as quietly as possible so not to wake Remus up.

Shutting the door silently behind him, Sirius span to leave the shack, jumping a foot in the air when he found himself nose to nose with a Potter. Biting his lip to avoid shouting out, Sirius glared at his friend in annoyance, pushing him lightly. "What the bloody hell do you think you're playing at, sneaking up on me like that? You could have woken up Moony."

"What do you think you're playing at, leaving him there? Get your ugly butt back in there and talk to him now." James hissed hotly, holding his friend's shoulders tightly.

"I don't want to speak to Moony." Sirius whined, looking at James pleadingly as he struggled against the stilling hands.

"Since when do you have a bloody choice? If you want to do other unspeakable things to the poor boy, then the least you can do is go and speak to him right now. You will go and speak to moony and you will pretend that you are happy about it, god dammit." James replied, maneuvering the pureblood towards the door he had just shut.

"He's just - Gods, James. How can I tell him everything? Everything that kiss meant to me? How much I want to do it again and again until my lips eventually fall off? He's the best bloody kisser I've ever met, and I don't want to lose him."

"I need to think about what happened, and what I need to say to him, and the like." Sirius replied, finally gaining his footing to stand his ground. "This isn't the sort of thing I can afford to do without thinking, okay? You can't make me go and see him."

"I think you'll find I can. And besides, you've had all night to contemplate what happened, you don't need anymore time." James replied again, keeping his voice low so as to not wake up the occupant of the room behind Sirius. "The longer you leave him, the longer he's going to have to think about what happened, and he'll read way too much into it. That's his job as the thoughtful one."

"I can't contemplate whilst in doggy form. All I can understand as a mutt is food, play and sex" Sirius replied hotly, glaring at his friend in frustration.

"Nice to see the mutt's thought patterns fully reflect yours." James replied, pushing Sirius into the room rapidly. "Now, you will wait here for the poor boy to wake up, and then talk to him as if you were an adult. You will tell him what you told me last night - yes, including all the soppy crap, don't give me that look - and then have glorious glorious puppy love. I expect to hear a brief, summarised, G-rated version of events at a later date, and please, for the love of God, Sirius, make sure you do not mention any of the creepy guy-love bits to me. I love you, but eww."

"I hate you sometimes." Sirius muttered, sighing dramatically and turning into the room. "Don't mention anything I said to you to Remus later; if someone's going to tell him, it might as well be me."

"I wont! Have fun, sugarcheeks." James replied, shutting the door behind the canine rapidly, whistling a happy tune as he strolled back to the castle.

* * *

Sirius turned into the room quietly, huffing silently as he glanced at the boy in the bed. Sheets strewn casually across his lithe form, Sirius tilted his head as the boy moved, making the sheets fall lower on his back. _A couple more inches and I'll have a first class view of his ass. _Sirius strode across the room with determination, standing over the sleeping boy intensely, praying that either the sheet would fall of its own free will or the werewolf would jump him again.

"So, Mr Black." The lips below him whispered quietly, making the pureblood jump slightly in shock. "What, may I ask, is the verdict?"

Sirius stood for a moment, not sure whether to be more shocked about the fact his friend, who was usually all but dead to the world, was conscious, or the ambiguity in the usually straightforward boy's question. "Hmm?"

"Do I, as you so eloquently put it, 'taste like an ashtray'?" Remus smiled lightly, eyelids remaining closed in quiet contemplation as he rolled onto his back, tugging the sheets upwards to fully cover his scarred torso.

"Not one bit, Moony." Sirius replied, sitting on the bed awkwardly. "Listen..."

"Sirius, wait. I'm so sorry about yesterday. The wolf was out, I was tired, all I could see was a member of my 'pack' in front of me, teasing me, taunting me, and I just wanted to -needed to - dominate." The bed-bound boy sighed, squeezing his eyes shut, not allowing a single dram of light in. "You're one of my pack, Sirius, and all the wolf can see is a strong threat to the leadership. I'm so sorry I jumped you like that, it wasn't fair of me." Remus stated, one eye opening so that amber could meet silver. "Please don't let this change us, Sirius. You mean too much to me as a friend for me to let the wolf's aggression destroy our friendship."

Sirius had felt angry before. He had felt frustrated, and confused, and exhasperated, and upset. But never, in his many years on this earth, had he ever felt completely and entirely defeated. Looking at the now open, pleading eyes below him, he knew that despite whatever Remus had said, there was no way in hell that what had happened the night before wouldn't change the pair.

Now, Sirius wanted Remus. Had to have Remus. Needed Remus.

_I can't have him if he doesn't want me. _ He thought bitterly, realising he was still staring at the lycan below him. "Nothing has to change. Its fine. I'm hardly one to lecture about acting on impulse." Sirius stated, staring upwards at the ceiling.

"Why did you come last night?" Remus asked, sitting up to look at his friend. "You shouldn't have been there. I told you not to be there. Gods, Sirius, if the wolf was able to make me kiss you two hours away from moonrise, can you imagine how bad it could have been if he'd decided to dominate you in the hours straight after the turn? I could have bloody killed you, whether you were in canine form or otherwise."

"You weren't worried about the wolf dominating James and Peter." Sirius stated, eyes still trained upon the ceiling.

"Well - you see -" Remus started, cutting off for a moment. "You're a canine, you're second in command within the 'pack'. You're the one he'd need to dominate. Hell, if I was to go feral, you'd probably end up being the wolf's mate. But I am not feral, I'm not. I just have occasional..." He paused, closing his eyes tiredly. "...Weak moments."

"Weak moments." Sirius scoffed, glaring at the boy in the bed. "Fine, yes, fine. I'm fine with that. Fine." He stated. Remus looked up at his friend, smiling tiredly and patting Sirius on the leg lightly.

"I'll be okay today, Pads. Why don't you go up to the dorms and get some rest, it was a long night last night."

"Don't worry about me, Moony. You're the one whose bones were smashed last night." Sirius replied, climbing off the bed slowly. "I can take you up to the hospital wing now, then go and sort myself out, if you think that you can make it up there at the moment?" He offered, presenting a hand of assistance.

"That would be great, Sirius." Remus replied, reaching for Sirius' outstretched arm to pull himself up. Climbing up rapidly, the usually graceful teen, weakened by hours of fighting and aggression, stumbled slightly. A hand came up to steady him, resting on his weary shoulder to keep him upright. "Oh, for heaven's sake, I'm so sorry Pads..."

"Stop apologising." Sirius breathed, hand still covering the other's. Unable to draw away, the pair stared at one another quietly, faces inches from one another as their eyes bore holes through the short distance between them. "Just... Gods, just..."

"Hi guys!" The pair sprang apart, hands tearing apart as Peter entered the room, placing some used blankets atop the dresser.

"Peter." Sirius hissed, glaring daggers at the short boy, who cowered slightly as he recognised the anger seeping off the pureblood. Before he had a chance, however, to open his mouth and say all the profanities and curses that he wanted, Remus placed a large, cold hand on his forearm, removing his ability to think straight.

"Hello Peter." Remus smiled, eyes never leaving Sirius' as the black boy turned to face him once more. "Are you heading over to the castle now?"

"Yes, I am. Are you guys heading up now too?" Peter replied, heading for the door.

"Yes, we were just about to leave." Remus answered, Sirius still paralysed by the man's calming touch. Peter left the room quickly, leaving the two canines alone once more. Remus withdrew his hand quickly, a whine escaping Sirius' mouth at the lack of contact. "You mean more than anything to me, Sirius. I'm not going to lose you, you hear?" Remus whispered, knowing the canine ears would pick it up. "Come on, lets get up to the castle."

* * *

James left the castle swiftly as dusk fell, pulling his cloak above his head carefully as he emerged from between the large oaken doors. Letting his legs guide him, he bore course for the lake, knowing exactly where he would find the person he was looking for.

Sure as the sun sets, there he was, sat under the willow tree that stood tall against the lake, letting the long leaves protect him from the rain. James stood for a moment as the teen in front of him sat facing away, staring up and above the lake.

"This is the fullest I ever see it." The teen said quietly, rousing James out of his staring. "Its quite beautiful, really. Usually, with either disease or age, physical beauty fades, but that just stays up there, never changing, never mutating."

"Its the moon, Moony. One of the few constants in the world." James said calmly, taking a seat next to his friend carefully. "Or outside the world, I suppose. So, care to tell me why on earth you're sat under your 'moony is sad' tree looking as if a hippogriff's eaten your owl?"

"Come off it James, we both know you and Sirius have probably spoken about this already. There's no need to pretend you don't already know about what happened the night before last." Remus stated bluntly, letting a few leaves drift through his fingers.

"I want to hear it from you. I want to hear both sides of the story, I want an accurate representation as opposed to the insane ramblings of Sirius Black." James smiled, looking at his second best friend with amusement and frustration.

"I jumped him, would be the short hand version of the story. It was just the wolf trying to assert his domin-"

"Oh for fucks sake Rem, you might be able to trick Sirius with that 'pack dominance' thing, but don't even try that with me." James scoffed, thumping his friend lightly on the shoulder.

"Ok, fine, maybe it wasn't entirely down to the canine pack thing. But the wolf just wanted Sirius. At that moment in time, hell, _I_ _wanted Sirius_. I don't know the whys and hows of it, but in that precise moment all I could comprehend was the desire to swipe that smirk off his face with my lips, and I acted on impulse. Gods, if I'd have been at least half in control, I could have perhaps stopped the stupid bloody wolf, but I let my guard down for a second too long." Remus replied, hand resting on his temple tiredly.

"So? I don't see why the fact you kissed Sirius has to be a problem. The chances that he minded are so tiny that you have nothing to lose. Hell, why don't you go for it again! I'm sure Sirius wouldn-" James started enthusiastically, stopping suddenly as his voice cut out mid-flow. Glaring at his friend angrily as the lycan pocketed his wand, James crossed his arms, body language demanding an explanation.

"Had to be done James, sorry. You were rambling." The lycan muttered, head falling into his hands momentarily. "Sirius is an idiot. He's the smartest idiot I know, but he's still a complete idiot. And, as such, he has no common sense or concept of 'long term'. Yes, he might think that sleeping with one of his best friends is a really good idea, but that's in the short term. You know Sirius as well as I do; I'm not about to let him make me another notch on his bedpost. Not to mention, whilst it might be fine for him to be gay, I couldn't do it. Please don't look at me like that James, I couldn't." Remus stated, looking at his friend for a moment.

"After all, how few people accept werewolves? They already think that I'm going to sneak into their homes and bite their children, if I was gay as well they'd probably bloody assume that I'm going to snatch their first born baby boys from their cots and rape them whilst I'm there.

"Its different for Sirius. Hell, if he wants to be gay I am more than fine with it. If that's what makes him happy, then I am so glad he is with men. But I am a werewolf, and once I turn 18 I have to keep a record of my domestic partners, my sexual partners, anyone I go on a date with really, and inform the ministry, so that they can ensure that I don't infect them. If they found out that I was sleeping with a pureblood - and a Black no less - he'd end up in an insane asylum and I'd end up six feet under. The worst they can do if I stick to the fairer sex is tell my partner that I am a werewolf, which is a mandatory conversation anyway, I suppose.

"I can't be gay, and I can't sleep with Sirius. Its too rash, okay? And, as selfish as it sounds, I would like to follow the social norms in at least one aspect of my life. After all, being a wizard is uncommon, being a werewolf is abnormal, but being a gay werewolf? Come off it! I'd most likely belong to a very small social group, involving me and two 55 year old werewolves who probably do get their kicks snatching first born baby boys.

"Sirius can go to some gay bar and manage to pull the most attractive guy in the room, like I know he's more than capable of. Hell, I'll even drive him there hHe'll be much happier without me interfering with his life. I am not about to let my lycanthropy ruin the friendships that I worked so hard for James. I can't." Remus looked at James calmly, reaching for his wand and reversing the spell quietly. "You really should learn some non-verbal spells, James. If that happens to you during the war, flailing your arms around is not going to help you win the battle."

"Sirius said the kiss with you was the best he's ever had in his entire life." James revealed breathlessly, staring at his friend with an intensity rarely seen.

"Well then, he's obviously been kissing the wrong people, because I don't think my kisses are anything special." Remus replied calmly, infuriating James further. Determined to go down a different route, the be-speckled boy tried again, taking a different angle on the situation.

"Do you find him attractive?" He asked bluntly, smirking slightly at his friend as a blush spread over the other's cheeks.

"He's not unattractive." Remus answered, rolling his eyes lightly. "Even you can't deny that, though."

"Do you find him funny?" James pressed, raising his hands up to ruffle his own hair in contemplation.

"He's not boring." Remus replied deftly, own hands reaching out to stop James' movements. "Lily doesn't like it when you ruffle your hair." He stated calmly, placing James' hands back down on the floor.

"Does he make you happy?" James asked, unwilling to let Remus distract him, no matter how tempting it was at the mention of Lily.

"He doesn't make me unhappy." Remus replied, lips pursing tightly as he examined the horizon carefully. "I'm sure one of those trees moved then James. Did you see it? Maybe there's ents in the forest, you never know, Tolkien might have gained his inspiration from the forbidden forest." Unhappy with the speed the conversation was progressing, James kicked it up a notch, asking the question dancing on the tip of his tongue without delay.

"Do you find yourself wanting to date him?"

A pregnant pause passed between the pair, as James stared at his friend with a triumphant grin on his face, waiting for his friend's response. "I don't find myself not wanting to date him." Remus whispered quietly, eyes shutting in thought as his chin dropped to his chest. "But, no matter what you or anyone else says, it is not going to happen, James Potter. You and Lily will be married with mini-Potters hopping round the place before I ever date Sirius." The pair smiled at one another briefly, before Remus pulled himself and James to a standing position. "Its getting late, come on." He whispered as they headed for the castle. Unable to resist, James had to deal one last shot.

"Do you want to take him into a closet and fu-"

"Don't make me silence you again, Potter." Remus smiled, pushing his friend aside to a laugh, as choruses of 'you do!' 'do you?' 'I swear to god, if I ever have to witness that...' filled the air.

* * *

**I officially suck! I'm so sorry this is late, I'm in the middle of exams and *insert crappy excuses here*... **

**And, I managed to do it as well on the one week where I am INUNDATED with reviews! you all rock, all 26 (yes, count'em) of you! I'm so sorry I didn't respond to any of you amazing people - I only have an hour free today, and figured you'd rather receive this than my insane ramblings in PMs. I do love you though, honest! **

**Song of the week - Motorcycle Emptiness, Manic Street Preachers**

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

Remus Lupin sat back casually, huffing as he glared at the open trunk in front of him. After forty five minutes of searching through his large trunk, throwing the neatly piled contents left and right in haste, there was still no sign of the missing herbology text book which he so desperately needed.

Closing the trunk with a huff, he stood up, eyes narrowing as he looked around the room angrily. A quick glance at his watch drew another huff from the man, as he realised another 20 minutes of revision time had been lost. He examined the room once more, remaining stationary as he eyed each boy's section of the room carefully.

James' section of the room was free of the text book, that much was evident. The be-speckled boy rarely took any of the werewolf's books, be they novels or educational, for fear of what would happen should any of the books come back damaged. One evanesco spell in third year that left James revealing his hippogryff boxers to the common room was more than enough to assure that.

Peter's bed was rather more likely. Indeed, lying upon the covers amongst dirty clothes and empty wrappers, Remus spotted the text book, and with a quiet growl strode over to the bed, grabbing the book happily, only to realise that the corners were too dog eared for the book to belong to him. A quick glance through the pages at the messy scribbles in the margins and Remus realised his mistake; there was no way this was his text book (and if it was, Peter Pettigrew was a dead man).

Placing the ruined book on the bed once more, Remus turned towards the final portion of the room, smiling as he spotted the cover of the book poking out of the far corner of the covers. Jogging lightly over towards the bed, he lay down across it, reaching towards the coveted book.

* * *

Sirius strode in to the dorms casually, walk stuttering slightly as he spotted the the lithe form of Remus Lupin stretched out across his bed, reaching for an object just out of Sirius' line of sight. Sirius' mouth dried as he watched the teen stretch further, shirt riding up to reveal a slither of skin between his trousers and the light button shirt he was wearing. He spotted Remus' light pink tongue darting out of the corner of his mouth slightly as the boy concentrated, muttering under his breath as his hands closed over whatever it was he craved.

"...bloody mutt... taking books... should ask..." He huffed, as Sirius felt a sad smile building upon his face.

It had been a week since 'the incident', and Sirius had barely seen the werewolf since the morning after the moon rose. Remus had taken to sitting next to Peter in the majority of lessons, consequentially leading to Sirius placing himself next to James, a seating arrangement that the teachers did not appear to appreciate and was appreciated by Snape even less.

Mealtimes were much the same, and Remus had taken to replacing their usual 'Remus and Sirius' time with tutoring everyone, anyone, that might need his help. They spoke occasionally, asking for pens here or passing potatoes casually, but before long it was obvious to the entire school that something had occurred between the marauders.

Sirius hadn't been allowed in Remus' bed since, an unspoken arrangement that began when Remus closed his curtains around his bed the first night after the full, effectively shutting off access to the magnificent mattress and causing Sirius to detest those curtains with an intensity usually reserved for Severus Snape and paperclips.

The irony of this hatred of curtains would not be lost on Remus, many many years later.

"You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity." Sirius stated calmly, walking over to sit on his trunk, less than a foot away from his startled friend, who had been so focussed on the book that his senses hadn't even recognised the appearance of his friend. Remus lay, frozen, upon the bed, eyes leaving him looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Oh, hello. Well, I was just... Insane... Must be, since I'm friends with you." Remus stuttered lightly, climbing upwards into a sitting position, never letting his eyes leave Sirius. The pair sat for a moment, every muscle tensed, the hunter and the hunted.

"Why are you on my bed?" Sirius whispered, crawling towards his friend as Remus shuffled backwards at an even pace.

"I was looking for my Herbology text book. I wanted to get that homework about the effects of anger upon pigmy infected Lilacs done so that I could go-" Remus started, the pair still moving back until Remus' back collided with the headboard.

"Why have you been ignoring me, Remus? I thought you didn't want things to change..." Sirius keened sadly as he shuffled closer, taking the book out of his friend's hand and placing it on the side carefully, eyes never leaving his friend.

"We need... time apart." Remus replied, eyes closing momentarily as Sirius leant in closer, pressing the two of them together from shoulder to toe. "Then things can re-adjust, and go back to...normal."

"No no, I think that you do want things to change... You either want me to leave you alone, or you want so much more than what we had." Sirius stated softly, letting his breath ghost across his friend's lips. Remus' eyes fluttered closed once more, and his tongue slid out once more, drawing its way around the flush lips nervously.

That was all the motivation Sirius needed, and he slid forward inches, claiming the lips rapidly as a soft sigh left them. Neither boy moved for a moment, lips remaining placed against one another carefully as Sirius waited for Remus to hit him or kiss him back. When neither happened, Sirius moved slightly, eliciting a muffled moan from Remus, whose hands moved upwards, upwards, tangling themselves in Sirius' locks as he pressed himself against Sirius.

Sirius took a deep breath in as he smiled into the pressure, allowing Remus to pull his head forward, lips colliding with an almost desperate need.

Sirius gasped into the kiss as he recognised the reaction Remus was producing within him, insides knotting painfully as he felt himself harden. _Good lord, since when can a kiss get me like this? _Remus pressed upwards once more, and Sirius couldn't help but notice that he was in the same state, worsening the pooling in his own lap.

Kissing his way down the strong jaw below him, Sirius nipped the ear lightly, earning him a low gasp from the swollen lips. "Oh, Gods, Moony." Sirius moaned. All at once the scene froze, and Sirius frowned as he felt the boy below him still at the phrase, pushing Sirius off his lap and moving off the bed rapidly.

"Sirius, please. Don't make me do this. I will not be one of your flings. I will not." Remus begged, straightening his tie rapidly as he grabbed the text book off the bedside table. "I am Moony, I am your friend. I'm not a piece of fruit, Sirius - you can't take what you like and throw the peel away." He stated, throwing his cloak over his shoulders nervously. "We need a bit of time apart, okay? Just, Gods, I don't know, the entire student population is in love with you, go and get one of them to... fulfil... you."

"But what if no one can." Sirius replied quietly, eyes wide in desperation.

"Someone can, Sirius. I'm not special." Remus countered, taking one last glance around the room before sweeping out, cloak billowing from the speed of his movement. "See you tonight, Pads."

"Bye Remus." Sirius sighed, throwing himself back onto his bed, fingers tracing his still swollen lips.

* * *

"You know, seeing you or Remus striding places with upset looks on your faces seems to be a regular thing round here now." James stated calmly as he examined the angry look on his friend's face, perching on the edge of the bed quietly.

"I kissed him again." Sirius stated, chewing the inside of his cheek nervously as he examined the firewhiskey in his hand, taking a violent swig of the burnt liquid as he finished his sentence. James rolled his eyes, grabbing the bottle out of his friend's hands and replacing the lid as he lamented his friend's actions.

"What? Merlin, Pads, you haven't even spoken for a week, and the first thing you do is go and jump him? No wonder the poor boy is scared." James muttered, picking at the label of the firewhiskey contemplatively.

"I needed something, okay? And he was the only one... Is the only one..." Sirius started, trying to articulate his slightly muddled thoughts.

"Look, Pads.... There's no way of me saying this without coming off as a rubbish friend, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Are you sure that its Moony that you want? Are you sure that this isn't a passing fancy, because I know that you really really want to go for this, but as your friend, and more importantly as Moony's friend, I'll have to stop you right now if you think that there's even a chance that you're only doing this because Moony's available or because you liked being dominated or something equally as fickle." James stated sternly, hands raising to rest on his friend's shoulders.

"What? You think that I wouldn't be hurt if it didn't work? You think that I would hurt Remus?" Sirius asked angrily, temper flaring.

"No, I'm saying this because Moony isn't you. Moony tears himself to pieces whenever he breaks up with anyone, both figuratively and literally. Do you remember when he broke up with Anita? It took Mme Pomfrey four days to patch him up after that moon, remember? And you're not Anita. If you and him get together, it wont be a three week relationship that breaks up, it will be a five and a half year friendship, you know? It would kill him. Tear him to shreds. I am not going to let you do that to him, if you do, Sirius, I swear to God you'll wish you were dead." James finished, content that he had at least slowed the Black boy down a little in his advances.

"Maybe Remus is right. Maybe we need time apart." Sirius stated suddenly, head falling into his hands as whispy hairs covered his face.

"So you don't want him?" James asked, surprised by the answer. Despite his threats, he had honestly thought that the emotions Sirius held for Remus were genuine. Sirius paused for a second, thinking of the pleasure coursing through his bones when Remus moaned, the burst of happiness in his mind when Remus smiled, the tug on his heartstrings whenever Remus' eyes met his own.

Thinking of the pain when Remus pulled away in disgust.

"I don't know what I want." Sirius stated quietly, more hair falling into his face as his mood dropped.

"Then get away from Remus for a while, to try and figure this whole mess out. Don't let him get attached and then pull away, Pads, because if you hurt him any more than necessary, I will kill you." James finished, removing his hands from his friend's shoulders.

"Fine. Look, I've got to go to detention with McGonagal, I'll see you round, yes?" Sirius stated, getting off his bed and heading for the door.

"Bye Pads." James muttered, waving at his friend. "Lord, I hang out with some right idiots."

* * *

"Potter." Lily said curtly, not looking up as she felt a weight land beside her on the sofa. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, you can." James smiled, leaning back to examine his redhaired companion. "I need some advice."

"Advice?" Lily replied, sparing a glance at the boy. "What sort of advice? If this is heading for a sexual innuendo about your Penis, I will chop it off Potter."

"No! No, its nothing to do with my monstrous member... Its about Remus. Well, Remus and Sirius, technically." James frowned slightly, looking around the common room briefly. "Look, its a bit busy in here, would you mind if we went somewhere else? I don't want anyone to overhear."

"Fine. But I'm only doing this for Remus." Lily stated, climbing up off the sofa and placing her books back in her bag. "What is the problem?" She asked as soon as the pair were outside the room, the pair falling into step as they meandered down the corridors.

"Remus likes Sirius." James stated. "As in, really likes, not like a friend would usually like another friend. More like the way I like you, but with slight anatomical differences."

"And here I thought Remus had a good taste in partners. Apparently not." Lily quipped, eyeing James with interest. "So what's the problem, Black doesn't like Remus back? Because I'm sure I've seen him glancing at poor Remus more than enough times to suggest otherwise."

"Well, therein lies the problem. Remus likes Sirius, but Remus doesn't want to be in a relationship with Sirius, as Remus does not think himself gay or want to ruin Sirius' life." James explained briefly, excluding details about his friend's 'furry little problem'. "Meanwhile, Sirius was completely convinced that Remus was the guy for him up until about 10 minutes ago, when I had a conversation with him that made him question his feelings for Remus. However, I think - nay, know - that he does really really like Remus, and only started the aformentioned conversation in order to make him slow down this whole thing with Remus. Now, however, I am in a rut - Sirius doesn't want to ask Remus out because he doesn't understand what he's feeling, and Remus is being a stubborn mule and wont explain it to Sirius. The longer this problem is around, the further they drift apart, and pretty soon no amount of everstick glue is going to keep them together." James finished, looking at Lily optimistically. "What should I do?"

"I think, unfortunately, the only thing you can do right now is wait. Remus isn't an idiot, he'll get over his issues eventually. You've just got to hope this isn't a flash in the pan for Black, because if he hurts a hair on Rem's head I am castrating him and keeping his balls as my prize."

"I'll be sure to pass on the warning." James replied as the pair finished their circuit, reaching the portrait once more. Stating the password, James let Lily through, watching silently as she climbed gracefully through the gap. Whispering goodbyes, James headed for his own staircase, ready to go and sleep off his friendship woes.

"Oh, and James?" He heard a voice state, turning to see the radiant face of Lily Evans leaning against the bannister. "I'm glad you're okay with everything that's going on with Sirius and Remus - a lot of people would have turned and ran. The fact that you didn't shows a lot of guts. Night." James smiled dozily as Lily turned on her heel rapidly, watching her back retreat swiftly.

"Baby mini-Potters, you say, Remus? I see your wager and double it." James laughed to himself, turning to ascend to the dorms once more.

* * *

Regulus strolled back from the kitchens casually arms laden with cakes and firewhiskey which the house elves had provided. Smiling at his collection, he turned towards the common room, before disjointed footsteps stopped him in his tracks. Staring round nervously, he dived behind a statue, fearful of Filch's evil nature.

He placed his wares on the floor carefully, not wanting the man to take any of his newly acquired foods. He listened once more, trying to work out what directions the man's footsteps were coming from.

However, the steps were too light to be the burly keeper, and there appeared to be more than one person moving towards where he stood. _A couple on a midnight stroll. _ Regulus smiled internally, shining his newly acquired prefect badge and preparing to step out into the corridor, before a loud, moaning and definitely male voice drawled 'Oh, Sirius!'.

Frozen in place, Regulus stayed behind the statue as the couple appeared round the corner, Sirius' form pressing the - yes, male - figure into the wall opposite, hands roaming in places Regulus didn't even want to thing about. "What say we find somewhere a bit more comfortable?" he heard his brother whisper, dragging his hand up his partner's manly thigh.

Grabbing Sirius' hand, the man *thankfully* took Sirius away, dragging Regulus' brother somewhere, to do something Regulus really didn't want to think about.

Still frozen, Regulus' mind whirled as he thought about the repercussions of what he'd just seen. Sliding out from behind the statue, he stared in the direction his brother had left in, thinking about a million things at once. _Does this mean Sirius is gay? Will he be disowned? Do I want him to be disowned? Do his friends colleagues teachers cousins exes know? Do I tell mother father Lucius James? _ Questions whirling rapidly, Regulus did the only thing he knew how to do.

He turned and ran, collection long forgotten as he headed for the one person who would know what to do. For Severus.

* * *

**I deserve a severe beating for being such a rubbish updater! Better late than never? Its short, and I didn't do any review responses either, but I just haven't had any spare time, i'm so sorry! Exams finish this week though (yay) so I will be updating on time from here on in, hopefully :)**

**Song of the week - Moonage Daydream, David Bowie**


	13. Chapter 13

James huffed exasperatedly as he glared at Sirius, splayed out across one of the grand sofas in the common room. The pureblood smiled as women swarmed around him, arranging themselves carefully around his lithe frame. Several of the girls caressed whatever skin was within their reach, while the walking stick of testosterone that was Sirius Black lay in the center, every pore of his being screaming 'screw me'.

_You'd think the whole Remus thing never even happened. _James mused, snorting as one of the girls fell off her perch on Sirius' lap. She may as well have never even been there, as the group moved to claim the desirable space, rotating as one to improve their positions.

"Its disgusting, isn't it?" James heard a voice whisper next to him, as long legs obscured his view. James's eyes traced the curvaceous body in front of him, until his eyes finally reached a pair of almond shaped eyes framed by fire red hair. Lily smiled at him carefully, as one might approach a skittish pixie, placing her books on the table and sitting down next to him calmly. Opening up the top book and whipping out a quill, she began to take light notes in the margins, smiling internally as she saw James watching her, with jaw slack in shock, from the corner of her eye. "I don't see where the appeal is in draping your body all over him, sure, he's attractive, but his personality is - well, worse than yours." Lily stated, smiling at James wholeheartedly.

"Um, don't take this the wrong way, Lily, but... why are you sitting with me?" James mumbled, scraping a hand half way through his hair before he remembered a word of advice Remus had given, dropping the hand immediately to rest it on his leg.

"I don't know really. You just looked like you could use some company." Lily stated in reply, musing for a moment as James tried to draw his gaze away from the angel beside him. "Not to mention, in relation to casanova over there, you're virtually a saint." She smiled, resuming her note taking.

"So, I should keep Sirius around 24/7, then, to make me 'relatively' nicer?" James smirked, leaning over to read Lily's book. "Pigmy's only come out in winter, according to Remus. I don't think it says that in there." Lily smiled thankfully, scribbling the final note in the corner of the page quickly.

"I'm not sure if I'd put it like that. His influence rubs off on you." Lily answered, placing her quill back in her bag and turning to face James, glancing at her watch on the way. "Remus should be back from his rounds by now."

"Probably best he stays out, really." James replied swiftly, sparing a glance towards his best friend. "I barely want to witness that mess, I'd hate for Remus to have to see it. Hopefully he's caught some hufflepuffs doing the dirty, or something along those lines. That's sure to make him more than a little late, and give Sirius enough time to take one or two of his ladies somewhere far more private."

"Optimistic." Lily replied, wrinkling her nose lightly as the two turned to face the opening entrance, dread pooling in their stomachs. Sure enough, their wolfy friend emerged, smiling as he met their eyes. His smile froze as he spotted the virtual orgy in the corner, faltering for a moment until it returned, hollow.

Sirius froze as he spotted his lycan friend, eyes connecting for a matter of seconds as the werewolf broke his stride. A deep breath later, the walk resumed, ashy head dropping as he made his way up towards the dormitory. The Black heir stayed frozen, stilled by the golden orbs that had drilled scars on his retinas. James and Lily watched for a moment as the girls continued to gyrate around Sirius, while he remained stationary in the middle of the mess. Soon enough, he threw them off, ignoring the cries of indignation as he stalked out of the common room angrily, heading outside to blow off some steam.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, my friends are idiots." James huffed, earning himself a pat on the shoulder from Lily before she retired to her own dormitory.

* * *

"So, does someone fancy explaining to me what the bloody nora is going on?" Peter burst into the dormitory, startling James and Remus as they sat playing chess on James' bed. "Its 5.15, designated "Padfoot&Moony do whatever the hell it is Padfoot&Moony do" time, yet you're up here, with _James, _and Padfoot is god knows where doing god knows what with a male-female-whatever. In fact, I can't remember the last time you actually had a Padfoot&Moony time, you've both been avoiding each other like the plague recently. I know I'm not the fastest wand in the crate, but even I can see that something's happened, and its big, and you're all excluding me. I want to - nay, demand to - know what is going on." Peter stated, growing redder by the moment. "Did you have a problem with Sirius' camp-ness or something? Or has he seduced one of your crushes? Or was that mouse he ate the other day in canine form your pet? Because I swear to Merlin, if you two don't make up soon, I'm going to actually lose my mind." Peter huffed, throwing his arms in the air exasperatedly.

"Nothing's going on, Peter. Knight to H5." Remus stated, as James snorted alongside him.

"Right. Nothing. Lets just pretend that nothing ever happened, yes?" James scoffed, rolling his eyes as he examined the chess board. "King to B7."

"SEE! This is what I mean! You can't just 'pretend' that everything is normal with whatever is going on, as it is clear as day that its not just normal! Look at yourself, Remus, you look like death warmed up, and Sirius isn't faring much better. And James, how can you just let this go on! You're letting them tear apart the marauders!" Peter exclaimed angrily, arms flailing desperately.

"Me? ME!?" James growled, standing up to face the fourth marauder. "Don't try and palm this off on me, 'Tail. What happened was between Remus and Sirius, it has nothing to do with me."

"It has **everything **to do with you, James. And me. Don't you see, the marauders isn't just based on my friendship with you, or your friendship with Sirius, or my friendship with Remus. All of us need to be friends for this to work! We don't spend any time as a foursome anymore, its always you and Sirius, plus Me and Remus, or you and Remus plus me and Sirius.

"Pawn to A7." Remus stated quietly.

"And you, Remus Lupin! You're at the heart of all this, you should be doing whatever necessary to fix whatever mess you've created. I don't know what on earth has happened, mainly as you wont tell me, but what I do know is it is doubtless smaller than some of the arguments you two have overcome, yes? Don't make me say which one I mean, I think we all know." Peter stated loudly, gesturing towards the slim teen.

"Don't attack Remus over this, Pete." James stepped in, placing his body in between the pair quickly and pushing Peter onto his own bed, before retaking his position next to the chessboard. "King to B6."

"Okay, fine, leave me out of the loop. I get the impression I don't want to be in the middle of this fucking argument anyway. But for gods sake, you three are the first and only friends I have, and I know you're in a similar position, Remus. How can you let something which is most likely fickle get in the way of that? We're meant to be together as one, not letting little things tear us apart. We're meant to suffer together, celebrate together, love together - albeit with other people. Please, don't let whatever crap Sirius Black has done to you affect your better judgment. You need to go gung ho on him and act, its the only way this mess is ever going to be fixed." Peter finished, gathering his belongings and stalking out of the room rapidly.

"He's right you know." James muttered, looking at Remus complacently. "You need to act, one way or another, because Sirius has gone and got himself stuck in a mental rut. He's not going to do anything either way, and its tearing him up inside."

"Knight to D4." Remus muttered, watching as one of James' pawns was destroyed violently.

"He's an idiot, I know that. And yes, he should be fighting for your heart. But he's lost, and you're meant to be the one that helps him find his way again, I know it!" James exclaimed, resting his elbows on his knees to examine the chessboard. "You just need some help finding your own way, that's all. Come on, Rem, you can see as well as I can that you're perfect for one another. Everything you two do together screams soul mates. And I don't know why it took us all so long to see it. I know you're going to try and write that first kiss off as down to the wolf, and hell, maybe it was the wolf that initiated it. But I'll be damned if you didn't enjoy it on some level, and I know for a fact that Sirius did. Yet you're both stubborn as mules and won't take the jump and just do something!" He exclaimed, looking at the chess board frustratedly. "Bishop to H6."

"What am I meant to do, James? Beg? Let him trample on my insides until he becomes bored and moves onto a new man, woman or mythical creature?" Remus stated, pushing up off the bed and turning away. "Queen to B5. Checkmate."

* * *

"Well well well, if it isn't Sirius Black." Severus Snape sneered, obstructing the Black child as he swooped through the otherwise empty corridor, frosty with the late november winds. "I've been hearing some, shall we say, interesting, information about you recently."

"Leave well enough alone, Snivelly." Sirius growled, teeth baring as he squared up to the boy in front of him, eager to get to the common room. Noting the Slitherin's tense position, he fingered his wand lightly in his pocket, ready to pounce if need be.

"Well, I would, but I'm afraid I have some public service to attend to." Snape replied curtly, nose inches away from his enemy as his black eyes bore into the grey in front of him. The dim candles which rested round the corridor dulled pulsingly, intimidated by the terse air surrounding the conflicting pair. "Concerning your choice in partners, primarily." Sirius' heart froze momentarily, ice seeping through his veins as Snape's smirk grew, spreading to cover his cheeks and leaving him with a manic, disjointed look. _Closest he'll ever come to a smile, I suppose. _Sirius mused, own jaw tensing in annoyance and slight fear. "Was dominating women no longer enough for you? I assume you and your grooming regime play the female role in your... well, they're hardly relationships, but calling it a tryst seems inappropriate..." Snape argued, lips pursing in contemplation.

"How?" Sirius ground out, lip curling in distaste as Snape emitted a huff of noise that Sirius supposed was a laugh.

"You should be careful where you disgrace yourself, Black. You forget its not only you and Potter that traipse round the corridors at night." Severus revealed, barely flinching as Sirius growled. "You're lucky that the petrified boy only sought out my consolations, as opposed to that of his father. I say 'his father', but I suppose he is your father too, no matter how hard poor Orion tries to forget it."

Sirius cursed under his breath as he realised the implications of what Snape said. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a second to collect his thoughts before he re-opened them to look at Snape once more. Spotting the wand sashaying from the slitherin's pocket, Sirius sprang to action, slightly too late.

"Expe-"

"Petrificus Totalus!" Snape's voice barked, freezing Sirius' body in place. "Now, this is much better. No more of your interruptions, I don't know why you aren't made stationary more often. Salazar knows some people must be tempted to just Petrify you and leave you in closets." Sirius glared angrily at snape, swear words bursting in his mind like bombs as he tried to form a plan of escape.

Snape circled Sirius menacingly, eyes crawling across Sirius' body as he considered the teen in front of him. "At first glance you don't look very gay. Effeminate, yes, but I see no spandex, no bright colours, no hair gel. Yet your grooming regime should have given you away, I believe. You must wax and preen and brush like nobody's business, hmm?"

_No, you fat lump of shit, some of us just know how to use a bar of soap and a hairbrush. _Sirius huffed internally, rolling his eyes at the boy in front of him. _And I'm not gay... I'm just not entirely straight. Slightly bent. Mildly homo-_

"So, which one of your roommates is it that you're going to rape, hmm?" Sirius' mind blanked as Snape laughed once more, taunting the petrified boy. "I'd assume that you wouldn't sink as low as to try it on with Pettigrew, you're a Black, you must have some standards. Now, most would think Potter was the most likely, but that seems far too obvious and predictable for you. Besides, I'm sure if you wanted a run of the mill male like Potter, you could look outside your little 'gang', couldn't you? However, the wolf... well, that would be just perfect for you, wouldn't it? Having the beast as a little fucktoy? Is that why you keep him around, he's far too under the thumb to try and stop you, poor little werewolf." Snape hissed, nose to nose with Sirius.

"That's enough, Snape." A voice from behind Sirius stated coldly, as Sirius tried to see a face to identify the recognisable tones. Sure enough, when a mob of red hair evaded his vision, he internally raised his eyebrows, amused by the scene unfolding in front of him.

"Evans." Snape breathed lightly, lips upturning in the beginnings of a genuine smile. "I was just having a little chat with Mr -"

"Don't even try it, Severus. What on **earth** possessed you into thinking confronting Sirius Black about his sexuality was a remotely good idea, regardless of whether or not you could beat him? I can't believe you'd even consider trying something like this - and you have the tenacity to wonder why they pick on you! Don't you think for one moment that I didn't hear your comments, Snape. Why the **hell **did you bring the other marauders into this argument anyway? This is Sirius' private business, and you have no right to interrogate him on such a matter."

"And how, after all we went through, can you begin to judge someone for who they fall in love with?" Lily finished quietly, forcing Sirius to strain in order to hear. Her hands dropping to her hips sadly, gaze never leaving the slitherin.. "Go, Severus. Your presence here is not helping anyone."

Snape turned on his heel rapidly, shoulders slumped as he receded into the darkness. Lily looked at Sirius with a small smile, hands remaining on her hips. "Right old mess you've got yourself into here, Black." She grinned, moving towards him as she searched for her wand. "Finite Incantatem." Lily said calmly, waving her wand in the direction of Sirius offhandedly. He stumbled slightly, grabbing onto the redhead for temporary support, but when he didn't let go Lily looked over, confused.

"Listen, Lily, the whole thing about the wolf-"

"Don't fret, Sirius, I've known about Remus for a while." She smiled, patting him on the shoulder gently. "I've known him for 6 years too, you know. Its not like you and presumably Potter would be the only two to figure it out."

"Me and James didn't really figure it out." Sirius mumbled, smiling shyly. "Pete was the one that put two and two together and got the book out of the library to show us. We just confirmed it."

"Well. Maybe he's capable of more than I give him credit for." Lily smiled, pocketing her wand once more and heading for the common room. "I'm surprised Severus was surprised about your bisexuality."

"Oh?" Sirius questioned, smiling lightly at the short women walking alongside him. "You had it all worked out then, that I was batting for the other team?"

"Not worked out, no, but after seeing you attempt to romance the great squid, nothing can surprise me about you anymore, Sirius Black." Lily laughed lightly, looking at the boy beside her momentarily. "I suppose now is the wrong time to bring up that I saw you eyeing up Remus in Transfig?" She asked lightly, hoping for something resembling a coherent answer.

"Yes, yes it is." Sirius smirked, turning towards the kitchens as Lily smiled lightly, continuing her journey towards the common room.

* * *

heylo! Reviewers, I love you. 17 of you, down from the highs of chapter 10 (26 reviewers, golly gosh) but enough for me to feel very loved :)

I've written another little tidbit, called Taste In Men. Its only going to have 5 chapters, so I should finish it pretty quickly (note the use of 'should' as opposed to 'will'...), but it is really really... shall we say, odd? Definitely not to everyone's tastes, but there shall be some RLSB in it, so if you've got a second, pop over and give it a go! :)

Song of the week - Substitutiary Locomotion


	14. Chapter 14

"I'd love to show you my poster collection, darling." Sirius smiled languidly at the tall boy in front of him, who sat enraptured in the pureblood's charm. "They're upstairs in my dormitory, and I think you'd really enjoy looking at them. There's one that I think you'd really like. What say you and I head up there now, and we can take a look. If you really like, I'll even let you _touch _it." Sirius continued, eyes roaming along the body in front of him.

"I'd like that." The boy whispered loudly, stroking Sirius' arm seductively. It had been a week since Sirius had accidentally revealed his sexual preferences to the Gryffindor common room in an incident involving some leather cuffs, a tub of chocolate spread and an attractive German, but several curses and threats from James had ensured that the information had not seeped its way out of the house.

However, it was both a blessing and a curse, as since the revelation Sirius had seen it as a go ahead to flirt excessively with males within the griffindor common room, in the logic that they all knew already and therefore no harm could be done. A surprisingly large number of Griffindor males had 'volunteered' their services since, and this was merely the last in a long line of males to grace the pureblood's lap.

James watched silently as Sirius took the boy's hand, coaxing him upstairs to their shared dormitory with a mixture of disgust and amazement at the speed with which his friend had managed to snare a partner for the afternoon. Shaking his head, James turned to watch the boy next to him, trying not to let unwelcomed pity shine through on his facial features.

"Rem-" James started, watching Remus cough lightly into his hand, before running the same hand over his brow tiredly. "I'm - I'm sorry you had to see that." James finished, looking over at his friend with a worried crease marring his brows.

"See what, James?" The werewolf asked casually, eyes never leaving the table where his books rested, unfocussed.

"He's a knob, you know how he is." James retorted, unphased by Remus' faked ignorance. "If he even had a few brain cells, he might realise what an absolute idiot he's being. However, if you think he's going to realise what an arrogant arse he is at times without at least a little help from you, then you're going to find him very much lacking, I'm afraid. Please, for the love of all things magical, help him out a little, or the bastard's going to become impossible to live with."

"He's a big boy, Prongs. He can sleep with whatever idiots he likes." Remus replied curtly, shutting the large volume swiftly as he glanced at his watch. "Its midday, I'm going to go and see if Hagrid needs a hand with his new litter of graphorns. I'll see you later, Prongs."

"Bye, Rem." James sighed, glancing over to Peter with a roll of his eyes as the werewolf left. "O! what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!" He grinned at the rotund boy, rolling his eyes once more as the boy looked at him blankly. "Never mind, Peter." James stated, throwing himself off the sofa and heading for the dormitory stairs. "The time is out of joint; O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right!"

* * *

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?" James exclaimed as he stormed into the dormitory, completely unphased by the topless boy underneath his best friend, who let out a squeak as the pureblood's temper shone through the room. "Are you an absolute idiot, or do you enjoy single handedly ruining your own life in some sick, sadistic way?"

"Will you excuse me for a moment darling, it appears I have some business to attend to." Sirius smiled at the boy below him, jumping off the bed and drawing the curtains around the boy whilst casting a quick silencing spell around the curtains face dropping. "Have you got a problem, Potter?" Sirius hissed, throwing his hands in the air. "First you tell me I'm in love with Remus, then you decide I should think about whether its really him I want, and now you have the nerve to interrupt me when I genuinely attempt to work out whether or not he is replaceable? What the hell am I meant to do, hmm? Lie around pining?"

"And how's sticking your tongue down every person's throat working out for you, hey? You're going through them faster than a stunning spell by McGonnagal, Sirius, and so far you've yet to spend the entire night with any of them. So, I'm guessing you're still having the same _little problem _we talked about a few weeks ago?" Sirius had the decency to blush when he stated it, eyes screwing shut as he remembered the conversation with clarity. Looking down to his hips hopefully, he knew without the glance that the current boy lying wanting in his bed was having no effect on him.

"Not exactly." Sirius whispered, blush growing as he remembered the reaction Remus had elicited in him during the few kisses they had shared. "When Remus-well-you see..." He started, trailing off as he watched the exasperated face of his friend shift to face his own opening curtains.

"Sirius? Are you coming back to bed?" The pureblood scowled lightly, eyes closing in frustration as he tried to imagine a different voice coming from the curtains. He went to move towards the bed, but a strong hand on his chest restrained him.

"I think it might be best if you went downstairs, Brad." James stated kindly, grinning at the boy reassuringly. "Me and Sirius have some maraudering business to see to, I'm afraid, and an event of such a large scale cannot be planned in a matter of minutes. To waste but another moment waiting to plan would surely lead to our darling house master Minerva discovering the intricacies of our ideas and interrupting immediately. Apologies, I digress, but I'm afraid it's better if you return to your own room for the time being." The boy - Brad, Sirius supposed - looked to the Black for confirmation, and a swift nod from the canine lead to a sigh being emitted from his lips, as he dragged himself off the bed and down the stairs.

"Thanks for the cover, Prongs." Sirius smiled, patting James on the arm in a friendly manner.

"Oh, but there is a maraudering event to see to. I shall call it 'the night of glorious, glorious puppylove'. The guestlist will of course be rather short, and there shall be no actual touching between guests due to the fact that would be maraudering incest. I would help you more, but I'm afraid, my dear Padfoot, it is high time you grew up and learnt to plan your own parties." James smiled, walking out of the dorms with a customary nod.

* * *

_Prrrrrawr._

"Evening Osmund." Remus whispered tiredly as he watched Lily's cat Pandora blaze through the otherwise dormitory, the final beams of sunlight glancing through the room to the little kitten's pleasure. Resisting the primal urges to hunt the tiny animal, Remus sighed as he felt the wolf press forward in displeasure. "No. I refuse to eat Pandora. You two will just have to try and get along, no matter how lovely cat steak may or may not taste. I don't even want to think about how you know the taste of cat meat, thank you ever much."

The wolf growled in displeasure as Remus grinned, glancing over at the plate of meat James had kindly left on his bedside, knowing the wolf's carnivorous appetite so close to the full moon. Picking up the last slab of raw meat with a grimace, the academic in Remus winced as he contemplated the brutality and feral nature of eating raw meat, but before he could degrade the act further, he threw the meat airwards, letting the wolf roll forward for but a moment to tear into the tender flesh.

"I hope you're content now." Remus huffed, leaning back into his pillows contemplatively. _Grrrrr. _"What's got your tail in a knot, hmm?" Remus asked himself, feeling the wolf pressing on him incessantly.

Many people had tried to explain the presence of the wolf in the days of the month where the moon was not full. Several werewolves had said it was like a presence in the back of the mind, whilst some said it was more like having another, smaller person resting within the torso. However, in Remus' point of view, it was not like having something inside you at all. It was more like having a spite alongside your body, which no one could see and only you could feel.

A benevolent spirit, resting constantly upon the back, arms wrapped tightly around the body as the human lives out his days, never truly interfering but always ready to take over, to slip into its partner's body at a second's notice.

The pain of the mental intrusion is minimal; in fact some regard it as a rest, and only the physical change brought on by the moonlight is regarded as difficult. It brings a short gap of time where the wolf is off your back, where control is sacrificed in favour of the beauty of submission. However, no such convenience can occur without consequence. For Remus, the consequence of becoming temporarily feral was too large, and the potential for the wolf to overthrow his mental barriers too great for him to even consider allowing the wolf more than a couple of moment's free reign away from the necessary days,

Some chose to ignore this, to accept the presence of the wolf within their bodies, until eventually either the wolf won or the two souls combined. Fenir Greyback was the most well publicised case of this, but Remus knew there was at least a few colonies in the british isles where the entire group was feral or near-feral.

_Rrrrrgrr. _"Stop it. We're not going feral, despite your wishes." _Grrrawrrr. _"What is that noise for?" Remus hissed, shuddering nervously as he felt the wolf's sharp, swift inhalations tickle the hairs on his neck. The wolf pushed the boy up off the bed, dragging him leftwards, leading the boy in the direction of-

"Oh. Oh no. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Remus groaned as he felt the wolf lead him to the end Sirius' bed. "Not you too, Osmund." Lips pursed as the wolf pushed his body down onto the bed into a seated position, and it took all his physical reserves to prevent the wolf from pushing him into a lying position to bask in the scent of their canine companion. Remus reached over to Sirius' pillow, surprised to see his own small comfort blanket tucked slightly under the duvet. Scrunching the blanket into a small ball, he compressed it in his fists desperately, pressing it between each finger angrily. "I don't need another voice telling me how much I love someone who is so clearly unobtainable."

"Stop being so selfish, you hear me? He can do so much better than us, and don't pretend you can't see it. It is best that he stays away for a little while so that this can continue on its path like any normal teenage infatuation." Remus continued, placing the small sheet back under his friend's duvet. Feeling the wolf attempt to drag him up angrily, he let the wolf in for a slight second, trying to work out what was going on.

The pain that overtook his stomach was enough to explain it all, and he looked over to the now empty plate on his bedside. Groaning as he rose to a standing position, Remus stretched tensely. Too proud to ask someone to go in his place, Remus threw a cloak over his knotted shoulders, tying the catches with deft fingers in order to prepare for the journey across the castle in search of some large steaks, knowing the wolf would not leave him in peace if he was this hungry so close to the full moon, especially not if Remus was denying him access to another 'basic necessity of life'.

"Remus Lupin, you need to accept that this is just a stupid adolescent phase." Remus huffed exhasperatedly, throwing his scarf on rapidly in order to ready himself for the cold winds that blew through the castle at night.

"What's just a phase?" A voice from the doorway stated, and Remus' blood froze as he turned to face the entrance, eyes trailing the long lithe form that filled the frame. Moving away from the canine's bed, nodded at the boy with false calm, smiling in what he hoped was a charming manner.

"Oh, nothing. Lily's cat is in the room and the wolf was feeling a bit hungry, I was just trying to convince him it was alright. I'm going to go and get some more meat for him now, have no fear." Remus grinned, eyes almost feral as he felt the wolf glide through him, attempting to take over for a moment to seize power of the situation.

Sirius grinned, leaning against the doorframe nervously. "Right. Well, I shan't hold you up then." He declared, eyes giving away the butterflies in his stomach at being left alone with the werewolf.

"Watch out for Pandora, I think she's under your bed. Would you like anything from the kitchens?" Remus asked politely as he moved to the door, nodding to Sirius as their paths crossed and he muttered a declination. For the shortest of moments, Remus could have sworn Sirius' arm darted out to stop him, but as he turned to glance at the pureblood, the hand rose, running its way through the silky locks instead. Remus stopped for a second, letting a deep inhalation pass his lips as the wolf pushed for dominance so they could claim their mate, but he turned on his heel once more, heading for the kitchens at a rapid pace without so much as glancing back.

* * *

"Bloody cat." Sirius growled, scooping the tabby feline from under his bed in one fell swoop. "Out of all the dorms you could have picked to inhabit when your slave isn't around, you picked the one with two canines in it. And they say cats are smart." He huffed, throwing the cat to the side callously. A hiss emanated from the bespeckled creature as it flounced off dramatically, out of the dorms at its own pace.

Sirius clutched his head angrily, fingers squeezing the bridge of his nose as he cursed his own indecision. He'd some so close to grabbing his friend's arm, to just letting all this emotional crap spill from his mouth until the werewolf either kissed him or killed him. Either alternative was preferable to this never ending sea of nothingness.

_Imagine if you'd grabbed his arm, you complete and utter dolt. _Sirius thought angrily in a voice that resembled a certain red headed griffindor. _You could be in here kissing his face off, instead of sitting on the bed, thinking about what could have been. And guess what? Now he's gone to the kitchens, where the crazy little house elves will attempt to romance him with their tiny hands and massive eyes. Hell, Lily's down in the common room, she might even interrupt his journey, and use the opportunity to harass him in the way only I should be allowed to harass him. _

_They're probably all attacking him as we speak, throwing him to the ground so that he can be ravished. Why, unless I leave imminently, they will probably do things to him that none but I should do! He is probably screaming my name now, begging me to come and rescue him from the horrors of the kitchen._

_And when I arrive, he shall cry in disbelief, before throwing himself into my arms dramatically, as I carry him away into the night to safety. Oh, how we shall laugh! And then, once we are safe, I will kiss him into next week, not letting his lips leave mine for more than a second - unless, of course, they have somewhere much more fun to move down to. _

"To the kitchens! I'm coming, Remus!"

_

* * *

_

"Remus! Where do you think you're going?" Lily smiled as the werewolf walked past her in the corridor, arm resting on his as she looked deep into his eyes.

"I'm going to the kitchens, I'm a bit peckish. Would you care to accompany me?" He asked politely, offering a hand to help her rise should his offer be taken.

"Why, yes thank you." She smiled, insides feeling a little fuzzy as he linked their arms, leading her out of the common room. _Well, after all, you may not be attracted to him, but he is still an attractive man. Sirius is a lucky lucky boy._

Looking at the man on her arm, Lily confirmed what she had said only moments before. Whilst the delicate features of Remus Lupin weren't as immediately breathtaking as the classic beauty of Sirius Black, his amber eyes, high cheekbones and eversmiling lips were more than enough to get the blood pumping. Having seen his body during the summer months, Lily knew he had nothing to be ashamed of underneath his robes, either, regardless of the scars that criss crossed his torso. She let her arms close for a moment as her head rested on his arm, slightly ashamed of the thoughts of Potter that passed through her mind.

"Lily?"

"Sh, I'm not coming on to you. I just wanted a moment, and knew that you wouldn't take advantage." She smiled as he looked down at her, untangling his arm from hers and letting it rest across her shoulders tentatively.

The pair walked in amicable silence for a while, trailing through the empty corridors at an relaxed pace in their comfortable position, until Lily couldn't resist. "So, let me guess, you're imagining I'm a certain someone with jet black hair, a gorgeous roman nose and sinfully full lips right now?"

"Not you too."

"Come on, Rem, you're hardly subtle. You've got to let go and let yourself love, or you might never get another chance." Lily stopped, letting his arm drop off her shoulders as she rested her hands on her hips.

"Why wont you take a risk and go for it? None of us will care if you're gay, and Sirius is clearly head over heels in love with you. Yet you continue to hold back and stop yourself from just going for it. If you don't take a chance, you'll never win the jackpot."

"Oh for heavens sake Lily, you're lecturing me about letting go and allowing yourself to love? Have you seen the looks you've been throwing to a certain Potter boy recently? Yet your own bloody prejudices wont let you date him, as you're convinced that he's this absolute nightmare child who'll never grow up." Remus argued, hands resting on his hips as he mirrored her stationary position.

"Me and James aren't like you and Sirius."

"You and James are exactly like you think me and Sirius are." Remus countered. Lily went to respond, but the scuffling sound became more and more eminent, and Remus lifted a hand to silence the redhead.

Lily squinted as she watched Remus' head drop, tilting in an effort to listen to something her ears weren't sensitive enough to hear. He stood motionless for a moment, until his head lifted to look the redhead square in the eye. "You hear that?"

And suddenly she did, a light scuffling noise somewhere in the distance. "Its getting closer." Remus whispered as she noted the noise getting louder, the echo in the empty corridor making it seem as if the sound surrounded them. Suddenly, she spotted Remus' head snap leftwards, and her eyes followed, widening as she spotted a lithe body tearing its way around the corner.

"MOONY!"

* * *

**Oioiii**

**Guess what? This is now officially the longest story I've ever written! yaaaay... *Looks guiltily over at Reasons Why Liking Remus Lupin Is Wrong in the knowledge it now feels inferior*...**

**And, to 'celebrate', I feel I need to spring clean my account by getting rid of the 'dead meat' that is 'We're Charmed', a really rubbish story I started when I was 13. I am a bit gutted about having to delete it, but it is absolutely awful and contains the worst Mary Sue I have ever seen in my life! **

**I had a narcissistic moment earlier, where I just stared at the list of people that have me on author alert/story alert/favourite author/favourite story. You all rock. **

**Shameless self promotion - Taste In Men is now 4/5 complete, have a gander? Its all getting a bit weird over there now, and is very nearly complete!**

**Song Of The Week - "Hello, I wrote a song for you called 'Welcome To The Jungle'"- Hot Club De Paris. **


	15. Chapter 15

* * *

Sirius tore round through the long, winding Hogwarts corridors, cursing his earlier lack of drive. His blood pounded heavy in his ears as the corridors widened and narrowed, seemingly endlessly trailing through the large castle.

Running down the final staircase, Sirius threw himself over the banister, landing nimbly with barely a break in his stride as he continued his run. Throwing himself through the last few corridors, he reached the final corner which lead to the kitchen entrance.

As the large fruity portrait came into view, Sirius' eyes traced their way down the imposing frame, until it located two figures at the bottom. Anger tore through him as he recognised both figures, with fear spreading through his veins as he spotted a small, feminine arm resting on his Remus' arm. A sound which he hoped resembled the boy's name rattled from his burning throat, and as those amber, luminous eyes came into view, all rational thoughts flew from Sirius Black's head, and instinct took over.

Instinct that lead to him wrapping his arms tightly round Remus' waist, not breaking stride, and pushing the boy to the wall, as far from the she devil as possible. Hands sprawled as Sirius pressed his entire body against the shocked werewolf, tucking his head into Remus' neck tightly.

"I'm sorry I didn't grab you before and I'm sorry I kissed all those people but I didn't want to like you as much as I do so I thought it would be best if I found someone else but no one else made me feel the same as you do so I kept going and going in the hope that I'd find someone as good as you but my sexual rendevouz pushed you into the arms of Lily Evans which is never a good thing as now you're going to fall in love with her and then James is going to kill you and then I'm going to have to spend the next 20 years in mourning and -"

"Sirius." Remus started, finally coming to his senses and reaching up, hands running calmingly through the pureblood's hair. Lily held back a sigh as Remus' head tilted to the side slightly, leaning on Sirius as the werewolf inhaled, resting his lips lightly on the crown of his head. "I didn't get a word of that. If you could repeat it with some punctuation and pauses, that would be great." He smiled, hand shooing Lily away.

Lily made it as far as the corner, just leaving their line of sight as she felt a hand grab her, seemingly out of thin air. Before the scream could leave her lips, James Potter appeared, luminescent cloak in his hands. "What? You thought I'd leave them to their own devices?" He whispered, smirk resting on his handsome jaw. "We won't interfere unless they start being complete idiots, promise." He grinned, offering the cloak out to the girl in front of him. Contemplating for a moment, Lily returned the grin, stepping tentatively into the proffered cloak.

"I'm so sorry, Moons. Sorry that I'm a complete idiot, sorry that I couldn't keep my tongue to myself, sorry that I didn't realise how important you are to me sooner." Sirius whispered into his friend's neck, hands wrapping themselves securely around the werewolf's waist. Remus' hand left the silky hair in front him, instead trailing down to the pureblood's face, pushing the chin upwards until the pair stood eye to eye. Fighting tooth and nail with the wolf to maintain control, Remus peered into Sirius' steel orbs, dropping the hand from his chin to the strong, aristocratic shoulder.

Pulling the werewolf closer, Sirius never let his eyes leave the pools of gold in front of him, whispering the apology once more as his lips hovered millimeters from his friend's plush mouth. Untangling his hands from his friend's waist, Sirius trailed his hands upwards, finally resting on the sides of his companion's face as Remus' eyes shut momentarily.

Sirius let his eyes shut also, leaning forward to rest his forehead upon his friend's. "I like you. I really like you. And I know that a part of you must like me too, or I'd have been thrown down the corridor by now. I've tried so, so hard to not like you in the way that I do, tried to find other people to could fill the gap that you created when you grabbed me that day in the dorms. There's a million and one reasons why we shouldn't be together, but we can work past that, I swear." Sirius whispered, lips ghosting across the pair in front of him.

"I'm not gay." Remus whispered breathily, hands wrapping around the boy's shoulders tightly.

"That's fine by me." Sirius replied, thumbs rubbing circles on his friend's cheekbones. "I'll be the woman." Sirius smiled, closing the short distance between their lips for a second, smirking slightly as he felt Remus' hand curl round to hold his neck in place. "Not gay?"

"Most definitely not." Remus replied, kissing the corner of Sirius' mouth with a smirk. "Just you."

"Okay, well that's problem number one sorted." Sirius smiled, eyes scanning the smiling face in front of him. "Now we've just got to sort out the whole 'oh I don't want to ruin our friendship' thing, which, pardon my french, is a load of crap. Then we'll sort out the 'oh, I'm a werewolf and you're a Black and the ministry -'"

"Sirius, stop being an idiot and kiss me." Remus smirked, mouth upturning as Sirius shortened the distance between them, capturing the werewolf's lips with his own.

The pair connected fluidly, lips pressing firmly against one another, and for the shortest of moments, everything froze as the pair stood, hardly believing what was happening. Then, all at once, movement resumed, Sirius' hands twining their way rapidly into Remus' hair as the wolf howled in appreciation, Remus letting a moan escape from his own lips. Taking advantage of the open mouth in front of him, Sirius advanced, letting their tongues fight for dominance as hands explored their way round the bodies presented to them. Wolfy instinct taking over, Remus pinned Sirius' tongue to the roof of his mouth in victory, humming as he did it and eliciting a groan from the submitting canine.

Remus pulled back slightly, disconnecting their lips for a moment as he stared at his friend, smoothing the hair in front of him slightly. Sirius grinned happily as he spotted the werewolf's hair, mussed from his tugging and twining, claiming Remus as his.

"I don't know if this is going to work." Remus whispered, hands framing Sirius' face as Sirius gripped his arms tightly. "But we can give it a go. It doesn't make a difference anyway; I can't just be friends with you when all I'm thinking about is how brilliant your lips taste." Remus smiled, leaning in to claim the aforementioned lips once more in a shorter, less demanding kiss.

"Well, wouldn't want you to miss out on the brilliance of my lips, you wolfy devil, you." Sirius smiled, hands intertwining with Remus' own. "Thank you, Rem."

"For what?"

"For giving this a chance." The pureblood said softly, closing the gap between the pair once more.

* * *

James placed his hands firmly over his eyes as the make out session commenced, unable to watch the unbridled puppylove that was unfolding before his very eyes. Why, the sight of the two of them together was so sickeningly sweet that getting through the evening without spewing would be a very very very good turn out.

Keeping his vision blocked from the sight of the practically-fornicating couple, he turned to Lily, slightly annoyed at the soft, adoring look on her face, as if she was looking at a kitten. Lord knows that if circumstance let her speak, she'd most likely make an 'aww' noise. Her hands were clasped lightly on her chest, eyes blinking rapidly, and although James knew that the look of happiness and contentment was not on her face due to his presence, he couldn't help but admire how beautiful she looked.

Lily glanced at him quickly, eyes slightly glazed as she smiled, lips pursed together in forced silence. Eyes connected for a moment, and before Lily knew it, her tongue darted out, wetting her lips.

James' eyes closed momentarily as he memorised the loving look on her face as she looked at him, heart softened by the silky sweet scene in front of them. Opening them once more, James watched in surprise as Lily leaned forward, closer, closer, until -

"James, I suggest you leave quickly, as if you don't go now you're going to be subject to permanent mental images that you will - oh - greatly regret." Remus stated loudly, glaring over his partner's shoulder in the direction of the invisible pair, freezing their movements. James looked shocked for a moment, before slapping his head at his idiocy, muttering about stupid werewolf senses. His mind sighed in disappointment as Lily leant away from him once more, head dropping.

"Yeah. Evans, if you wouldn't mind-" Sirius started, pausing to nibble his way along Remus' ear "giving us a - oh - moment or two of - heavens Moons - privacy, that'd be fan-frigging-tastic." The hidden pair smiled sheepishly at one another, shuffling silently round the corner until the canine pair were out of sight.

"I'm sorry, Potter, I don't know what came over me back there." Lily stated, straightening her top unnecessarily before looking at her watch. "Must have been all the pheromones in the air."

"Lily-" James started, unsure of what to say as he gazed into the emerald stones once more, mind trying to process what was going on.

"Bye Potter." Lily whispered, moving out from under the cloak quickly. However, James was faster, hand darting out to stop her for a moment. Eyes connected once more, emerald green burning James' retina, until Lily could bare the silence no more, turning and running out of the corridor.

"Bloody Mongrels." James yelled, unsurprised when he heard a voice yell 'voyeuristic deer!" from around the corner.

However, he was slightly more surprised when he realised the voice belonged to a one Remus Lupin.

* * *

Remus laughed as Sirius lead the way back to the dormitories, a noticeable spring in his step. Although Remus could hear the melodic tones of the pureblood, he was too shocked to try and find meaning in the ramblings, his brain still fully focussed on trying to figure out the events of the previous 15 minutes.

"My Moony!" Sirius grinned, hand entwining within Remus' own as he dragged him down the corridor happily, singing odd songs about Centaurs, bunny rabbits and the giant squid as he hopped along.

They came to the common room entrance, Sirius proclaiming the fat lady to be the most beautiful vision he ever did see as they watched her open, blushing heartily. Sirius went to enter, stopped by the unmoving werewolf attached to his arm.

He watched with a frown as Remus untwined their hands, stepping away from him slightly as he began to enter. "I'd-well, I'd rather not tell everyone, at least not until I've worked out what's going on myself." Remus admitted, trying to ignore the flicker of hurt that passed across his friend's face as he passed him. "Not forever, of course, but just -"

"That's fine, Moons, as much time as you need." Sirius smiled sadly, falling back into step with his friend, directing him towards the dormitories.

The pair entered in contemplative silence, both going to sit on Remus' bed quietly. Looking at one another, both realised that they had no idea whatsoever how to talk to someone after kissing them as thoroughly as they just had.

"So..." Sirius started, smiling nervously as he watched the werewolf pick at his cuff.

"Nice weather." Remus smiled awkwardly, rubbing his hands together as he looked out the window. Sirius sighed dramatically, looking to the ceiling in exasperation.

"Please don't let us be reduced to talking about the weather, Moons. Just because we're now kissing each other senseless occasionally, doesn't mean we have to have those forced dating conversations that no one really enjoys." Sirius exclaimed, rolling over to lie on his back, head resting in the werewolf's lap.

"Oh... okay... Where are you guys planning on taking me tomorrow night?" The werewolf asked instead, allowing his hands to rest in the pureblood's hair. "I'm assuming you wont want to spend the evening in the shack..."

"Prongs wants to go over to the other side of the lake, so we'll probably venture over there and see if there's any new areas that we can stake a claim to." Sirius grinned, eyes closing as Remus began massaging his scalp lightly. "Here's a question; How did you know you liked me?"

"I just knew, I suppose. You're the most attractive man I know, the funniest, one of the smartest, and we just... Match, I suppose. How about you? After all, you've had the choice of every single person in this building, excluding perhaps James and Snape. Why me?"

"God, how can I explain it..." Sirius mused, head resting back onto the board, looking at his lover musingly. "Imagine I had some food, and it looked like chocolate, smelt like chocolate, felt like chocolate. But then I bit into it and found that it tasted like apple. Now, apple is not the taste I was expecting, nor was it the taste I was craving, but it is not a bad taste, and I am still hungry, so I eat the unfulfilling apple, in the hopes that eventually it will either begin to taste like the chocolate I'm craving or I will adjust so that the apple taste is more appealing."

"However, there is a problem with this logic, as I, Sirius Black, have never settled for second best in my life. So after a while, I gave up on that fake chocolate bar, moving on to taste another chocolate bar. However, this was seemingly the wrong flavour entirely - really really cheap, nasty chocolate. However, there's something about it that makes you keep going back for more and more, regardless of how unfulfilling that bar is as well. Then suddenly, in the corner, you spot the honey moon milk chocolate bar, which has been there for years and has always been appealing in its own way, but a bit too expensive for you to ever break into. However, this time it throws itself into your mouth, and you cannot resist just taking it into your mouth and licking and sucking the entire bar from root to tip, running your tongue along the underside sensu-ppmh"

Sirius wished he could remember when his description of his love for Remus turned into an R rated escapade, but he found himself caring less and less as the werewolf's hands wound themselves into his hair, tugging the animagus up so that their bodies could press together intimately. "Chocolate porn is not allowed in serious conversation, Pads." Moony moaned lightly, leaning out of the embrace to his partner's displeasure.

"Does breaking that rule always have such enjoyable consequences?" Sirius grinned, laughing heartily as Remus leant in for more.

* * *

**Sorry its short! I'm about to head over to London to see Blur, but wanted to publish this first, so that when I get home there'll be at least a few reviews in my inbox :)**

**And, for your enjoyment, you get a sneak peek at what the next chapter's like! Ah, I'm so generous... **

"Sure! Moony and Padfoot are really close friends, just like me and you are close, Prongs." Peter smiled, confused by the rapid green tinge that overtook James' face.

"Please, never ever compare Moony and Pads to you and I ever again, Pete."


	16. Chapter 16

James walked slowly up the dormitory stairs, not entirely sure he wanted to know what was going on within the dormitory, only occupied by the Maraudering couple. "They better not be doing anything on my bed" he mumbled to himself, climbing the steps faster in the hopes of protecting his beloved bed. By the time he reached the top of the staircase, he'd practically broken into a sprint, banging his hand on the wall rapidly.

"REMUS! SIRIUS! You both decent? You better not be up to any funny business, or I'll take both your wands and give them to the-" James started, surprised when he fell forward through the opening door. From his position on the floor, he looked up to see a very amused Remus standing over him. "Hello, Moony." He grinned nervously, thankful that the werewolf was fully clothed, though very very flustered. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything..." He smiled innocently, leaning up to his elbows to see that Sirius was - thankfully - lying on Remus' own bed.

"I told you we shouldn't have stopped." Sirius moaned, leaning his head back against the headrest. "He only came up here because he's an idiot that can't deal with the idea of two men kissing, so just had to interrupt us."

"Hey! I've been nowt but supportive to the two of you, you hear?" James scrambled to his feet, affronted, knocking Remus' outstretched hand out of the way. "I just don't want to have to walk in on two of my _friends _getting up to funny stuff. How would you feel if you walked in on me and Peter?"

"I'd throw up in pity for you, after all you would be kissing Peter." The three occupants shuddered momentarily, each imagining worse and worse sexual scenarios with their over-excitable friend. James shook it off first, returning to point immediately.

"Fine, bad example. What if you walked in on me kissing Moony?" James challenged, grabbing the boy stood beside him and clasping him in a tight hug, heads inches from one another as James held Remus in place.

Sirius looked at the pair suspiciously, watching Remus blush as he tried to escape the embrace and James stare at him challengingly. "I would most likely kill you in the slowest, most excruciatingly painful manner I know." Sirius replied, raising himself to a standing position and stalking across the room towards the pair. "And, although I'm not proud of it, I'm a Black, so I know some pretty excruciating methods for murder." He snarled, pulling Remus out of James' embrace forcefully and into his own.

"Fine. What about if I was up here with Lily?" James asked, hands crossed tightly across his chest.

"If you convinced Lily up to the dorms for a reason other than to yell at you, I would buy to condoms myself so long as you keep your dirty hooves off my Remus." Sirius responded, rolling Remus out of his embrace so the pair stood side by side, Sirius' arm wrapped tightly round his shoulders still.

"Your Remus?" Remus frowned, looking at Sirius through the corner of his eye.

"I'm your Sirius too, works both ways, love." Sirius said aside, grinning at his companion. "But yes, James, I have no problem with whatever urchins you bring up to the dorms, and expect such a courtesy to be returned."

"Okay. Fine. But I don't want you getting up to any kissing on my bed. And nothing above kissing and some petting in the dormitories. And no puppy love anywhere, got it?" James stated, hands lowering to his hips.

"Yes Mum." Remus and Sirius replied sarcastically, grinning afterwards at their own intuition.

"And no more of this puppy-psychicness either. I don't want to have to talk to you two 'as a couple'. I want to talk to Sirius and Remus." James retorted, waggling his finger at the pair.

"Fine." They both stated at the same time with a grin.

"You two are going to drive me mental, aren't you?"

"Probably." Remus stated, slipping out of Sirius' embrace to lead James to the door. "But that means when you finally lose it and kill us both, you can plead Not Guilty Reason Insanity."

"Convenient." James sighed, rolling his eyes as he stood in the doorframe once more. "Look, are you okay with me telling Pete about all this? He should probably known, before his retinas are burnt out by walking in on the sight of you two."

"You okay with that?" Sirius whispered, running a hand along Remus' spine as he followed them towards the door.

"That's fine by me, just tell him not to make it public knowledge yet." Remus replied, smiling at James. "If he gets creeped out by it in any way, write it off as a prank, yes?"

"If he's creeped out by it, I'll kick his ass myself." James grinned, waving at the two of them as he shut the door, yelling "No funky stuff!" though the disappearing crack between the two rooms.

"Silencio." Remus stated at the closed door shimmered in recognition of the spell. Behind him, Sirius had already gone towards the bed, sliding onto the sheets with a smile.

"Colloportus." Sirius waved his wand casually at the door also, the pair grinning as they were, once again, alone. "Time for some funky stuff." Sirius grinned as Remus stalked towards the bed with intent.

* * *

"And then WOOSH! James flew straight upwards, using his broom to thump the bludger away from Flitch, before doing a variation of the wronski feint -" James smiled, hearing Peter vividly describe his actions to a group of enthralled first years, hanging on his every word as he regaled them with tales of the week's quidditch match. "Well, speak of the very wizard!" Peter grinned, waving at James with a laugh as James bowed to the awed first years.

"I'm afraid public declarations of my brilliance will have to be temporarily halted, 'Tail." James grinned, shooing away the younger students with a flick of his wrist, sitting down next to his friend with a smile.

"Its about Moony and Padfoot." James explained, clasping a hand to Peter's shoulder and smiling. "Nothing to be worried about, but there is something about the two of them that you need to know, and they've asked me to tell you."

"Okay..." Peter stated warily, lips pursing in confusion.

"You know that Moony and Padfoot are... closer... than most friends, yes?" James started, unsure how to reveal such a big secret.

"Sure! Moony and Padfoot are really close friends, just like me and you are close, Prongs." James gagged momentarily, holding his breath as horrible, horrible mental images flooded his brain.

"Please, never ever compare Moony and Pads to you and I ever again, Pete." James shuddered, removing his hand from his friend's shoulders. "Right. Lets just put this out there. Sirius likes Remus in the same way I like Lily."

"Infatuated to the stage where he can't form rational thoughts?" Peter responded, a small frown creasing his brow.

"Yes! Not that I like Lily in that manner, but yes. He's a bit loopy about loony Lupin, one may say." James replied,

"And does Moony feel towards Pads the same way Lily feels towards you?" Peter asked warily, frown deepening. "I don't want Moony and Pads fighting like cat and mouse with each other."

"It wouldn't be cat and mouse. It would be more like wolf and dog." James grinned. "And the good news is that there shall be no puppy-wars! My little puppies have decided to court one another in the hopes of producing mini Semuses one day."

"Okay..." Peter stated uneasily. "I'm not entirely sure you're not pulling my leg here, Prongs."

"Now why would I, Marauder extraordinaire, want to deceIve one of my own?" James grinned, lips curling manically. Peter frowned further, glaring at James distrustfully. "I'm telling the truth, Pete. M'Moony and Sirius are coupling off together. You okay with this, I know its a bit of a shock?"

"Well at least now Sirius wont come after me." Peter stated thoughtlessly, clasping his hands over his mouth almost as soon as the words escaped his lips. James let out a bark like laugh, clapping Peter on the back once more.

"In all honesty, Pete, I don't think you're quite Sirius' type." James laughed, shaking his head in mirth.

"So Moony's like Sirius then?" Peter asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion. "Moony's..."

"As twisted as a fruit loop." James completed, nodding the affirmative. "Not that it matters to us, right, Pete? He's still just plain old Moony, but now we just can't tell him he's asexual for not sleeping with all the women he courts."

"Does this mean... Sirius and Remus... In our dorm?"

"No no. No." James stated firmly, hands resting upon his legs as his eyes squeezed shut, even more horrible horrible scenarios playing out in his mind. "There shall be no official puppylove until they're both 30, and even that is negotiable."

"But I thought you wanted mini Remiuses." Peter asked, ever more confused by the contradictions being presented to him.

"Semuses, Semuses. Remiuses is a lot less pleasing to the ear, and I want my godchildren to have strong names that are attractive to the listener! And they'll be delivered by the stork, the same way I was." James assured with a nod of his head.

"James-"

"MY PARENTS NEVER HAD SEX." James shouted, quietening the entire common room with his outburst. "Back to your business, the lot of you!" He yelled at the crowd, who all resumed their tasks, albeit with a few giggles along the way.

"Okay. So Sirius and Remus are now "Sirius and Remus"." Peter checked, squinting his eyes momentarily. "I can sort of see them as a couple..."

"I have a feeling they're going to be a rather nauseous couple for the first few weeks, until Rem figures out how to calm down a certain frisky mutt."

"Great." Peter muttered, before perking up momentarily. "This means there'll be even more girls free for the rest of us, as Remus can't romance them into thinking they deserve the best and Sirius can't sleep with them!" James laughed, clapping Peter on the back.

"I suppose there will be." James grinned, jumping to his feet. "Wanna go annoy the happy couple?"

"When would I pass up on that?" Peter grinned, and the two turned to the dormitories, wands drawn.

* * *

James sprinted out the dormitories minutes later, a trail of curses and tiny horned butterflies in his wake as he ran into a closet, exiting moments later and trapping the beasts, punching the air in victory before saying a silent prayer for Peter, an unfortunate casualty in the battle. Breathing heavily, he turned to see Lily walking into the common room, two or three friends in tow. Her eyes hit James' and she slowed, looking away quickly as he jogged up to her, smiling charmingly.

"Hey, Lily." He stated breathlessly, stopping a few foot away as her friends slowed, turning to look at the scene with matching grins. Lily waved them away rapidly, before tucking her hair behind her ear and turning to face James once more, eyes never lifting.

"Potter." She nodded, eyes burning holes in the floor. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah, fancy that." James grinned, unable to tear his eyes away. "I need to talk to you. I know you've most likely told your friends about what happened earlier -"

"I haven't!" She squeaked, eyes lifting in outrage at the idea of James thinking her a gossip. "How dare-" James lifted his arms in surrender, before stepping forward and clasping her upper arms tightly.

"That's great." He grinned. "Better safe than sorry, and Remus doesn't want it getting around so I thought I'd check with you."

"Still, the thought -"

"If I'd really thought you had told your friends, I would have cursed you right now, regardless of how pretty you are." James replied, reaching up to tuck some more of Lily's hair behind her ear casually. "After all, Remus and Sirius are my mates, and its not like you're my girlfriend or anything." He mumbled, hand dropping from her face sadly.

"No, I guess I'm not." Lily replied softly, looking at her watch quickly. "I've got to go."

"Snape?"

"How'd you know?" Lily asked, eyebrows raised in suspicion.

"You go down to the library every Thursday night, alone, at 6.40. The only reason you'd go that routinely is if you were meeting someone, and the only person you'd meet that wasn't in Griffindor is Snape." James omitted the fact he'd seen them together on the map, instead casting his eyes to the ground for a moment, letting Lily stare in wonder at the man in front of her. "Look, I know you're probably, in the long run, going to choose him over me. But can I please have just one chance? One day in Hogsemeade. Please. This weekend. You'd be making a boy's dreams come true?" James asked optimistically. Lily stared for a moment, unable to prevent her lips turning upwards as he smiled hopefully towards her.

"This saturday. We meet at 10. You've got until 3 to impress me, then I'm leaving." Lily stated, a 100 watt grin breaking out across James' face as he jumped forwards, wrapping her tightly in his embrace as she stood frozen in shock for a moment. Hearing a blast behind him, James cursed, looking towards the dormitory stairs to see a multicoloured, half newt Peter stumbling down the last few steps, and a furious Sirius Black emerging, a look that screamed vengeance splashed upon his face.

"Got to go!" James whispered, planting a risky kiss on Lily's cheek before he disappeared, sprinting out of the common room without looking back. With a roar, Sirius followed, an exasperated - and rather orange - Remus trying to make the pair "slow down and stop acting like flaming lunatics!" as he jogged half heartedly in their wake. After 10 minutes of working out the counter-spells to help Peter, Lily departed, glancing out of the window as she left to see brightly coloured spells jumping between two wands as a crowd gathered, a small, ashy haired, orange figure standing on the outside with hands in the air and what Lily imagined was an annoyed look on his features. With a soft chuckle, Lily left, feeling slightly less excited about her meeting with Severus.

* * *

Feel good chapter alert! Sorry, I'm probably a bit late with that warning, there's so much cheese here that you're probably feeling a little ill. But hell, everyone's favourite puppies need the occasional happy moment, right? Have no fear, ye who love the angst, something (or should I say someone) will be along to break the peace soon, and he's bringing his bitchin' cane with him!

Also, sorry if there are any factual inaccuracies in this; I wrote the thing on a plane, so I had no internet and couldn't double check.

REVIEW! Come on, you know you want to!!! Reviews are catalysts; they increase my productivity and speed up the production of the next chapter, without taking anything away from you :)

Song of the week; Teardrop - Massive Attack


	17. Chapter 17

xx

"So. What exactly is going to happen tonight?" James asked as Wormtail tapped the tree route at the base of the Whomping Willow, the long branches freezing under the enchantments enabled.

"We're going to go out with Moony...?" Sirius stated, confused.

"No, I mean between you two. We've never had one of Remus' partners down at the shack with us before, what if he goes ape and rips your face off?" James frowned, trudging towards the tree's opening. "I've grown rather fond of your ugly mug, I'd rather he didn't eat it."

"Aw, shucks, Prongs, I didn't know you cared." Sirius rolled his eyes, shoving his hands deep into his robe's large pockets and shivering against the late november air. "We've only been together a little over 24 hours, and we haven't done anything that would make the wolf consider me 'a mate' in the non-friendly sense, so I can't see anything changing."

"Twenty four hours with the same partner without having sex?" James scoffed, raising his eyebrows in amusement. Leaning down, he scooped up Peter in rat form. "That must be a new record for you." James suddenly broke his stride, blanching as he considered what he'd just said. "God, Pads, the partner's Moony. This no sex thing is very very good. I love you both, and am fine with seeing the occasional G-rated kiss and cuddle, but seriously. Marauding incest."

"I know, I know." Sirius grinned, ducking down to fit in the tunnel. "Though I would classify your desire to fornicate with a red headed dragon bestiality, so each to their own."

"Ah, Lily..." James grinned, climbing up the stairs to the shack and throwing Peter onto the tattered chair in the corner. "My own precious little doe..." Walking over to the other chair, he fell into it, caught up in his blissful imaginings.

*Grrrrrrrrrrowl* Sirius and James both jumped as the loud animalistic rumble shook the Shrieking Shack. "He's changed already?" James frowned, looking at his watch suspiciously. "Its only 7."

"Its Winter now, the sun's setting at 6.30." Sirius replied, resting a hand on his forehead for a moment. "We've got to get down here earlier next time." He stated. Another deep growl and a curt nod later, James Potter and Sirius Black were gone, howling and rutting masses left in their wake.

* * *

"So I'm guessing if I touch him now, I'm going to get my hand bitten off, aren't I?" James grinned as he and Sirius climbed off the floor, final joints popping into place as they changed back to their original forms.

"Damn straight, wolf boy belongs to me." Sirius grinned, pushing James towards the door, depositing a sleeping rat in James' robes pocket. "See you in a few hours."

"Bye." James grinned, walking out the door with Pete in his pocket. Turning to his partner, curled on the floor tightly with only a small blanket covering his frame, Sirius suddenly became aware of how terribly uncomfortable Remus must be, and scooped him up, placing him on the bed with a tired huff.

Looking at his newfound partner, Sirius couldn't help but grin as he thought about the events of the previous 24 hours. "My Remus." He grinned harder, feeling his cheeks burn as his mouth stretched, determined to express its happiness at the situation. "You are magnificent." he whispered to the sleeping form, smile ever growing.

"Why thank you." Remus grinned, eyes still closed as he fought against his tired brain to speak. "You're pretty darn good yourself, I must say."

"We're going to be a very pretty couple then." Sirius said offhandedly, before pausing for a moment. "If we do, indeed, become a couple. Or are we already there? Do we count as a couple if we haven't ever been on a date? Or are we 'seeing each other?" He frowned, shoulders dropping.

"Does it really matter what we call ourselves?" Remus grinned, finally tearing one eye open. "We wont be telling anyone for a little bit at least, so lets just focus on being ourselves. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure that the days where its just been you and me in Hogsmeade mean that we've been on date-like adventures."

"I suppose." Sirius stated, rolling his fingers together languidly. "So you don't want to do this by the rule book, then? You don't want me to romance you, send you flowers, write you poems, take you on romantic dates and generally woo you?"

"You seem to be assuming I'm a woman." Remus chastised, placing a hand on Sirius' knee. "Though you can write me a poem, that could be interesting."

"If its a poem you want, a poem you shall get, dear." Sirius smiled, before a frown broke out across his features. "God, I'm meant to be checking you for injuries! Damn you, distracting me with your pretty face..."

"I'm fine, Sirius. The wolf seemed quite content with our kisses yesterday, quelled some sort of primal urge." The werewolf smiled as Sirius mothered him, fingers trailing across his body in the search for bruises and bumps, but eliciting a very different reaction. Finally, as Sirius brushed a hand along the top of the thin sheet, Remus grabbed his hand, stilling its movements. Kissing the knuckle lightly, he placed the hand softly on the side of the bed, smiling at Sirius reassuringly. "You keep up with that, and I'm going to end up ravishing you, and then you truly will have to deal with opened injuries I'm afraid."

Sirius' eyes widened comically, before his face broke out in another grin. "You're brilliant, you know."

"So you say." Remus smiled, eyes drooping closed involuntarily. "Unfortunately having this brilliance does not grant me the ability to live without sleep." He yawned, waving his fingertips at Sirius as Sirius grabbed the hand, kissing each tip in turn.

"Night night, sleep tight, don't let the crumple headed snorlaks bite." SIrius whispered, pressing a final kiss to Remus' forehead before consciousness was lost to the land of dreams.

* * *

Stretching languidly, Remus glanced at his watch through sleepy eyes, amused by the hands pointing at quarter to six. Noting the distinct lack of Sirius, he frowned, sitting up.

Looking around, he spotted a note pinned to the side, one of James and Sirius' mirrors placed casually underneath. Grinning, he leant over, fingering the note in amusement.

_**There once was a hero called Sirius Black**_

_**Everyone said he was great in the sack**_

_**When he walked down the street**_

_**Maidens fell at his feet**_

_**But alas, they could not please him.**_

_**There once was a werewolf called Remus**_

_**All the women they thought him fearless**_

_**When he threw you a smile**_

_**You'd jump up half a mile**_

_**But alas, he never looked twice.**_

_**Once Sirius and Remus met**_

_**and both decided that neither was het**_

_**and so gaily they pranced**_

_**and the townspeople danced**_

_**for the couple were truly smitten.**_

_I appreciate I am not going to be the next poet laureate, but there is my lovely love poem to you poppet. I had to get off (there's only so many lessons I can miss in a week before I move away from rebellious and into the expelled category), but I've left my mirror so if you need any help, give us a yell and myself or my lovely sidekick Prongs will come fetch you._

_Love Your Sirius (gods I love saying that)_

* * *

Sirius yawned tiredly from his uncomfortable bed, glancing over at the clock in disgust as he realised it was too late (or early) for him not to be asleep. Letting out a deep sigh, he headed over to Remus' bed, throwing on a pair of pants on the way over (after all, he didn't want Remus thinking he was going to jump him, no matter how delectable that option may be).

Pushing the curtains open slightly, Sirius smiled at the sight of Remus spread across the bed, head buried deep in the plush pillows in a vain attempt to shut out the echoing snores coming from across the room whilst his body was swamped by thick duvets. Perching on the bed cautiously, Sirius leant forward, running his hand through the long hairs gathered at the nape of Remus' neck. At the touch, Remus stirred, rolling over to look at Sirius with a disgruntled smile.

"Yes?" He grinned with his baritone voice, threading his fingers through Sirius' as his tired eyed focussed on the glowing outline in front of him. Stretching languidly, he shivered, noticing the open window to the side was letting icy cold November air run through the room. "S'cold."

"It sure is." Sirius said, bringing his free hand up to cup his partner's face, Remus leaning into the soft touch. "They say body heat is the most effective way of preventing hypothermia." He grinned cheekily with a wink, feeling Remus smile into his palm. The bed sheet was opened slightly, giving Sirius his first glance at the sensual red inner sheets since before his first kiss with a fellow marauder. Accepting the invitation with a large grin, Sirius slid in, snuggling into the centre of the bed inches away from his fellow marauder.

Pausing momentarily, Sirius frowned, unsure of whether to move forward and embrace Remus as he wanted, or hold back and just appreciate the proximity of such an amazing person. However, when he felt Remus' hand reach to touch his cheek lightly, he froze, waiting for his partner to make the moves.

Fingers tickled his jawbone, tracing down the strong neck until they reached his chest. Sirius' breath hitched as Remus' palm was placed flat against his chest for scant seconds, hand pressing inches above the heart that was now beating so fast. Dragging the hand downwards, it rested on Sirius' stomach. He couldn't breathe, too overwhelmed by the over-stimulation of senses as Remus' nails scratched, the werewolf leaning forward to nuzzle into Sirius' neck as his hands traced scintillating patterns over Sirius' body.

"Rem." Sirius hissed, arms frozen at his sides as he broke out of his reverie, inhaling deeply as he watched his companion's hands go lower, lower, gods lower.

"Yes?" Remus grinned, wide awake as he let his hands trail down Sirius' legs, skipping the area most desperate for attention. Drawing his hands back up they rested on Sirius' hips for a second, before returning upwards again. Gulping air rapidly, Sirius closed his eyes, knowing he had to go against every fibre of his being if he wanted to change the course of this relationship.

"Stop." The word squeaked out of his mouth, the four letters tumbling out in an unnatural tone. "Its too fast. We've only been together for 48 hours, and as much as I love a quick lay, I want to wait." Remus looked at him skeptically, hands freezing on Sirius' arms as Sirius cursed his voice for paying attention to his brain's instructions instead of his body's wishes.

"You want to wait. For sex." Remus frowned, trying to comprehend what Sirius, Sirius Black, yes, the sex god, was suggesting. Breathing deeply, Sirius thought fast, realising the easiest way to explain this was the truth.

"For you, I'd wait till the end of the earth for just one night in bed." Sirius whispered, removing Remus' hands from his arms gently and leaning forward to kiss him on the forehead. "Trust me, when we finally do stuff, you'll realise it was more than worth the wait."

"Hmm." Remus murmured skeptically, rolling onto his back with one final smouldering look.

Sirius stroked the face momentarily, tucking some stray hair behind Remus' ear contemplatively. Tutting casually, he glanced down at his shorts, pouting at his partner. "Now, you've gone and given me a rather large problem, so I am going to go and sort this out, then we are going to snuggle in a non-sexual way and practice being coupley. Capiche?"

"Yes sir." Remus mock saluted, watching Sirius traipse to the bathroom with curiosity. Sirius Black, in a relationship without sex.

How terribly odd.

* * *

**Heyyyy, ok, its not brilliant, but yeah... I'm a tease, arent I? hehe... ok. So, its my Birthday (wwoooo) and its a big one, so you have to review or the plot bunny gets it *holds up cute bunny and gun*. Its a good plot bunny too, involving plenty of puppylove and possibly even some kinky stuff, who knows... So review! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

Three of the four marauders sat in an abandoned corner of the library, two of them thoroughly unhappy with their placement. "Moony! Why are we here, the library's a horrible, horrible place to spend a Saturday!" Sirius groaned, face buried in the large tome in front of him as he clasped Remus' hand desperately.

"You're supposedly looking up useful pranking spells. I am trying to do my charms work." Remus stated calmly, squeezing Sirius' fingers slightly as his eyes never left the text book in front of him.

"I think I'm allergic to this place..." James muttered darkly, squinting his eyes against the burning pain of being trapped in the library as he sneezed several times on the trot. "Can't you just take the book out and read it in the common room?"

"No. Its one of the older tomes, I'm not allowed to take it out. You and Pads are free to leave if you're so desperate to go." Remus retorted, placing his quill down for a moment to turn the tome's large page. "I can more than hold my own in a library, I don't need bodyguards and I'm quite happy with books for company."

"Psh. Pads won't bloody leave your side!" James huffed, crossing his arms exasperatedly. "And Peter's rubbing me the wrong way today, Lily's nowhere to be found and everyone of note is revising for bloody tests!" Remus sighed, running a hand through his ash locks before glancing between James, the look of an overly tired mother resting on his face.

"Pads, why don't you go with James and play cards or chess for a while?" Remus stated slowly, leaning forward onto the table.

"But I want to play with you!" Sirius pouted, brow falling unhappily.

"Sirius. Don't act like a child, its unbecoming. You can play with me later. Me and James have 'joint custody', per say, and right now, its time for you to play with James. I'm sure he'll go out on the quidditch pitch with you or something." Remus stated, seeing James' face light up like a lantern at the mention of quidditch.

"Siriuuus, Don't act like a chiiiild, it's unbecomming!" Sirius mocked, standing up and nodding to James tiredly. James jumped up happily, throwing his bag over his shoulder and attempting to drag Sirius out of the library, but Sirius stayed stationary for a moment, smiling at the werewolf hopefully. With a roll of his eyes, Remus stood up, homework forgotten as he wrapped his hand around the back of his partner's head and pulled him in for a rapid, passionate kiss, other hand trailing his partner's face languidly. Pulling back slightly, Remus rested their foreheads together, staring into Sirius' eyes.

"Have fun playing quidditch." He whispered breathlessly, a smile playing on his lips.

"I do wish you two wouldn't do that in front of me." James squirmed, pulling on Sirius' arm. "Its nauseating."

Remus smiled as James dragged Sirius away, the pureblood not breaking eye contact until the last possible second. Touching his lips lightly, he sat back down, completely oblivious to the silent figure watching between the books.

* * *

James jogged back from the Quidditch pitch rapidly, victory playing on his lips as he heard Sirius curse behind him. The aristocratic Black child shouted that he was going to search for Remus, and James grinned, amused by the budding relationship between his friends.

"Is there a reason why you're grinning like a maniac, Potter?" James turned to face the voice, spotting Snape smirking at him, Lily in tow trying desperately to pull him away from the griffindor.

"For the love of Merlin, Severus, leave James alone." Lily huffed, pulling at the slitherin's arm with all her might, though her words escaped the notice of both parties.

"I was just reminiscing about the time we charmed you upside down very near here." James sneered, eyes boring into Snapes own. "Fancy a repeat performance?"

"James! Don't you even think about it Mister, I am not going to let you -"

"Perhaps you should mind your tongue, Potter." The look from Snape made James' heart drop, and although his bravado remained in tact, inside his mind was churning. "There are certain facts, about certain people, that I'm sure would be rather... damaging, were they to escape, lets say, from my lips."

"You're bluffing." James stated easily, lips tightening as he glared at Snape. "This is all just some elaborate way of getting me in a position you want."

"There are some that say the Marauders, as a group, are too close to be 'just friends', but I happen to know that there are certain people within that group that are in fact much more..." Snape smirked,

"You sneaking little lying bastard!" James threw himself forward, only to be stopped by the tiny body of Lily Evans.

"Both of you, stop this right now!" Lily yelled, glaring between the two older men angrily. "James, stop threatening Snape. And Severus, what on earth do you think you're doing, threatening MY friends over frankly _trivial_ matters? You do both realise that there's a _war _going on outside these gates, and this is how massive conflicts start, with a few harsh words between _petty enemies_. Severus, go back to the Slitherin common room, and don't even think of whispering a _single word_ of what you know to _**anyone. **_You hear me? **ANYONE**. If you so much as think of telling the rest of Hogwarts, you can cross me off your already short friends list." Snape slinked off sullenly, glaring at James as he disappeared into the shadows surrounding the castle. Sighing, James stepped closer to Lily, knowing whatever happened in the next 2 minutes could make or break their relationship.

_Apologise. _A voice that sounded surprisingly like Remus resonated through his head. _Even if you think you did nothing wrong, apologise. _"I'm sorry, I just don't deal well with people threatening Remus or Sirius, and it was -" Lily placed a hand to his lips softly, smiling gently.

"Its okay." Lily nodded, removing her hand quickly. "Severus was threatening your odd little pack-like group, so you went on the offensive. Once again, it was almost sweet to watch you defend them." Lily grinned. "Just, next time, use your wit, not spells or threats of violence."

"I'll try." James smiled cautiously back, completely unsure of how to behave around a 'nice' Lily. Glancing at her watch, Lily headed to the castle, walking backwards as she smiled at James.

"I've got to tutor some fifth years. See you round." She smiled, waving over her shoulder as she turned to jog into the castle. James grinned once more, scuffing his feet upon the floor. _Man, I need to listen to that Remus voice in my head more. Time to stop trying to shut it up with Chocolate. _

* * *

Remus left the library as the sun was setting, rushing down the corridors to ensure he didn't have to deal with a very annoyed Sirius when he finally reached the dorms. Reaching one of the more empty corridors in the fourth floor, he slowed his walk, overly aware of the unnatural silence filling the hall. The lights began to flicker, before darkness ascended through the tight corridor, Remus slowing to a complete halt as cold fear of the unknown filled his veins.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Remus frowned as the voice ricocheted around the corridor, the distinctive sound of a 'click' paired with heavy, rich boots filling Remus' heart with dread as he spun to see the approaching heir, followed by a number of large brutes.

"Lucius." Remus nodded courteously, still hoping in the depths of his heart that he could escape.

"That's Mr Malfoy to you... Remus." The pureblood smirked as he repeated the name, uttered in his ear by one of his passing guards. "A lot has changed since I left three years ago." He stated, circling Remus slowly as he examined every inch of the teen in front of him. "Its amazing how fast a little bit of money and a few threats here and there will push you up the social ladder. I'm here on official ministry business, and as such I am now officially your superior, and should be treated as such."

"Ministry Business?" Remus stated lightly, feeling more than put off by the older man's forward behaviour.

"Background checks." Lucius grinned, sharp teeth ready to tear into Remus. "We wouldn't want anyone untoward gaining an education here, you know." The pureblood banged his cane harshly on the wooden floor, and one of his followers scurried forwards, immediately whispering towards Malfoy.

Remus' frown deepened as he spotted the chart in the brute's hands, his sensitive hearing too affected by the thudding rain hitting the roof to pick up any conversations not directly at him. Nonetheless, when the word 'werewolf' was whispered into the tall man's ear, it may as well have been screamed across the room.

Hairs stood up on his neck as Remus looked for an escape route, noting the widening grin on Malfoy's face with a mix of fear and confusion. "My little beast." He stated, both hands resting on his cane securedly. "Continue, Wilkson."

"Currently in a relationship with Sirius Black." Remus' brow deepened as he wondered silently how they had come to know this, and Lucius' brow raised at this information, before Lucius smiled once more.

"The blood traitor?" Lucius confirmed, turning to face his brute for a moment. At the affirmative nod, his smile widened tenfold. "Really? In that case, I'll have so much more fun breaking you." Lucius hissed, placing the silver head of his cane under Remus' lowered chin to raise him to eye level. Remus winced as the cold abrasive metal hit his skin, unable to compress the quiet whimper of pain that left his lips at first touch.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Lucius laughed, his brutes joining in and halting in time with the pureblood's laughter. "They say that silver feels highly acidic to the skin of a werewolf, burning through it with the power of a strong potion." Remus felt a few cold drips of blood slide down his neck, and his breath hitched in his throat as the pain hit harder, burning through layers of skin as if it was mere cobwebs. The circle laughed at the apparent pain on the werewolf's face, though a sharp glance by Malfoy soon silenced them. "Now, if you behave, we shan't have to do that too often."

Lucius cursed as he heard approaching footsteps "Don't whisper a word of this to your precious Black traitor, else he'll be the one lying broken at the end of our visit." Lucius smirked, handing his cane over to one of his brutes. "And remember, around here, the walls have ears." He smirked, before clicking his fingers once. The lights dimmed, and by the time they brightened once more Remus was alone in a near-empty corridor, just one pair of worried footsteps approaching him rapidly.

He tried to focus his eyes, to get a grip on reality once more, and smiled thankfully as he spotted the lithe figure of James Potter in front of him. "Rem! Was that Malfoy? What is - Oh, you're bleeding!" James frowned, dropping his bag to the floor so he could tilt Remus' head upwards to look at the burn under his chin. "Maybe you should go to Mme Pomfrey, this looks pretty bad."

"James, I just fell over on the stairs, its not that bad." Remus smiled, insides in turmoil as he tried to understand what had just happened. "I can fix it myself, don't worry."

"If you're sure..." James frowned, picking his bag off the floor and letting it go with a shrug. "Common room?"

"Kitchen first, I'm starving." Remus grinned twitchily, glancing around once more in confusion, hoping he could stem the flow of blood before Sirius saw it and went into full blown panic over the injury. Sighing tiredly, he lead the way to the kitchen, smiling to ease the worried look on James' brow.

* * *

**Review numbers are vastly declining, how depressing... I guess this story is getting worse! Ok, reviewers, I need constructive criticism! What am I doing wrong, what am I doing right, etc! :)**

**Also. I have 3 'new' Remus/Sirius oneshots on my profile; 'Mr Tambourine Man' and 'Seven Stages of Grief' are angsty little ditties, but they were fun to write and very lacking in reviews. '10 Occasions When Kissing Is Not Appropriate' is a much more light hearted affair, and currently much more popular than the other two. Ok. that's enough self endorsement! Onwards. **

**OH! Little spoiler of a fic in progress before we go;**

"_**No. I take it back. I don't agree to this at all. I don't like Padfoot. I don't." Remus shook his head, mind spinning from the absurdity of it all. Yes, occasionally he would look over at Padfoot with what could be mistaken for admiration, but that was just because he was wondering how his friend achieved such shiny locks! And okay, occasionally he would consider what it was like to hold one of those large, aristocratic hands in his own, but that didn't make him gay..."**_

**If anyone fancies Beta-ing this (currently unnamed) story, please tell me so! :) Much love. **


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